Presenting Ilham Aliyev with the certificate of Honorary Citizen of Irpen, Ukrainian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Yuriy Gusev thanked the President of Azerbaijan and the country for their support of Ukraine and assistance in the city's restoration.
The Irpen City Council awarded the Azerbaijani president this title on April 30, 2026. According to Gusev, the decision recognized "the personal contribution of President Ilham Aliyev and the entire Azerbaijani people to supporting the Irpen community from the first days of the full-scale war and immediately after the liberation of the city."
Azerbaijan has become one of Irpen's key partners in its restoration. With Baku's support, the Lingvist Lyceum and the consultative and diagnostic clinic have already been renovated. The total cost of these works, according to the ambassador, exceeded 120 million hryvnias.
Future projects include housing construction, the restoration of a sports school, and the creation of a cultural center and a modern art center. Gusev called the awarding of honorary citizenship to Aliyev "a symbol of the deep friendship between the Ukrainian and Azerbaijani peoples."
"We thank you, Mr. President, and all of Azerbaijan for your solidarity and concrete steps to restore and support Ukraine," the ambassador wrote.
Irpin found itself in the center of global attention during the first weeks of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The city near Kyiv became one of the front lines of the Russian military offensive, and after its liberation, numerous accounts of destruction and crimes against civilians emerged. People passing through Irpin attempted to escape the combat zone; images of residents evacuating across the destroyed Romanovsky Bridge became emblematic of the first weeks of the war.
Today, Irpin remains among the most prominent cities in Ukraine affected by the Russian invasion. After its liberation, the authorities began a large-scale restoration of the destroyed infrastructure, joined by foreign countries and international partners.
