A village in Odesa region has been renamed Hurovske in honour of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR). According to DIU representatives, Odesa region is historically associated with the formation of the Ukrainian special services. This was reported by the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
The renaming was part of the decolonisation process. Previously, the village was called Pershotravneve.
The intelligence agency explains that this change marks ‘the significant contribution of the Ukrainian intelligence service to the protection of national interests from external threats and strengthening the country’s defence capabilities’ and honours the courage of military intelligence officers.
The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance added that the decision to rename the village also symbolises the importance of the DIU during a full-scale war with Russia, when the intelligence service is performing complex tasks.
The village in Odesa region was chosen for renaming because this region is associated with long traditions in the development of national intelligence services.
In particular, in 1886, Vsevolod Zmiienko, a general in the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and one of the founders of the military intelligence service in the emigrant State Centre of the UPR, was born in Odesa.
