Rescuer City

The Rescuer City distinction is an honorary award established by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to celebrate the humanitarianism, charity, and solidarity that different foreign cities shared with the Ukrainian people to defend the ideals of freedom, peace, and democracy. The award also represents the support given the city's residents to Ukraine's defense of its national independence and sovereignty while resisting against Russia's armed aggression during its invasion of Ukraine.
The distinction is given to cities of foreign states whose residents provided substantial humanitarian protection and other kinds of assistance to citizens of Ukraine forced to leave the nation during the invasion, as well as for those who gave significant support to the nation of Ukraine in its defense of its national identity, culture, and self-determination.

History

The "Rescuer City" honorary distinction was established on 22 May 2022 by the decree of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Polish city of Rzeszów was the first to be honored with the distinction on 22 May 2022.
On 4 April 2023, a decree by Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved of specific regulations towards how cities are selected and how the honorary distinction is granted, as well as regulations for the design of the award including drawings and the basic model of the award's commemorative plaque.

Award description

The medal of honor has the form of a cartouche with a mural crown on a background of acanthus leaves. The cartouche contains the coat of arms of the city.
The medal is made of copper alloys. The image of the cartouche and the crown are covered with galvanic plated gold, while the acanthus leaves are covered with nickel.
On the reverse side of the medal, the cartouche bears the inscription " МІСТО-РЯТІВНИК".
Images of the cartouche, crown and acanthus leaves are carved in relief.
The size of the medal is: height — 50 mm, width — 47.5 mm.
The medal of honor is connected to a block made of copper alloys with a coating of galvanic plated gold. The upper and lower parts of the block have slots through which the surface of the block is covered with tape. The block's size is: height — 23 mm, width — 32 mm. On the reverse side of the block, there is a fastener for attaching the city flag to the medal.
The ribbon of the medal is silk moiré, with longitudinal stripes of blue and yellow colors. The width of the tape is 28 mm, while the width of each strip is 14 mm.
The commemorative plaque for the honor has the shape of a horizontal rectangle. The base of the plaque is made of laminated composite material, on which a rectangular plate of white metal is placed.
The right half of the plate depicts an unfolded scroll with the text of the Decree of the President of Ukraine on the awarding of the honorary designation.
In the left half of the plate, an honorary designation without a block is depicted, below it is an inscription in two lines in blue letters: " МІСТО-РЯТІВНИ"..
On the edge of the plate, there is an ornament shaped like golden laurel leaves.
The size of the commemorative plaque is 220×300 mm.