Rokytne, Rivne Oblast

A settlement named Okhotnikove (Ukrainian: Охотнікове) was located on the territory of Rokytne since around the 17th century.^[2] In 1888, the village of Okhotnikove was incorporated, and it kept that name until it was renamed to "Rokytne" in 1922.

In the interwar period, Rokitno, as it was known in Polish, was administratively located in the Sarny County, first in the Polesie Voivodeship of Poland (until 1930),^[4] and afterwards in the Wołyń Voivodeship.^[5] According to the 1921 Polish census, the population was 46.5% Polish, 37.8% Jewish, 6.7% Ukrainian, 5.1% Russian and 3.4% German.^[4] It was granted town rights in 1927.^[6]

Following the invasion of Poland at the start of World War II in September 1939, Rokitno was first occupied by the Soviet Union until 1941, then by Nazi Germany until 1944, and then re-occupied by the Soviet Union, which eventually annexed it from Poland in 1945. It was downgraded to the status of an urban-type settlement in 1940.^[2]

Until 26 January 2024, Rokytne was designated urban-type settlement. On this day, a new law entered into force which abolished this status, and Rokytne became a rural settlement.^[7]

• Sergey F. Dezhnyuk (born 1976), Ukrainian-American theologian, historian, and political analyst