200 000 Karbovantsiv Hero-City of Kerch

Kerch received the Soviet "Hero City" designation in 1973, recognizing the catastrophic fighting of 1941–42 when the city changed hands four times between German and Soviet forces. The Kerch-Feodosiya amphibious landing of December 1941 was one of the largest Soviet amphibious operations of the entire war, and the subsequent Kerch-Eltigen operation in 1943 was equally brutal. Civilian and military losses in the region were staggering.

This coin is part of Ukraine's first commemorative series, issued the year after the karbovanets itself was already being phased out in favor of the hryvnia — introduced in September 1996. Collectors acquiring these at issue were effectively buying a denomination already scheduled for abolition.