Poltava (same for Russian and Ukrainian pronounce) is indeed a very old city, as archeologists found a Paleolithic dwelling, as well as Scythian remains within the city borders. 

In the middle of XVII century Poltava was the base of a distinguished regiment of the Ukrainian Cossacks, and served as a Cossack stronghold during the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Uprising. After the pro-Polish hetman Ivan Vyhovsky came to power and a civil war broke out, in 1658 Poltava, under polkovnyk Martyn Pushkar, was the leading town of the rebels. However, it was ultimately burned down and pillaged by Vyhovsky's troops, while many of its women and children were enslaved by the Crimean Tatars. In 1667 the city passed to the Russian Empire. In 1709 Russian troops under commandment of Tsar Peter I defeated Swedish Army led by Field Marshall Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld in the Battle of Poltava. The battle marked the end of the Swedish Empire and the rise of the Russian Empire.

In World War II, the Wehrmacht occupied Poltava from late October 1941 until 23 September 1943, when it was retaken during the Lower Dnieper Offensive. By the summer of 1944 the USAAF conducted a number of shuttle bombing raids against the Third Reich under the name of "Operation Frantic". Poltava Air Base, as well as Mirgorod Airport, were used as eastern locations for landing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers involved in those operations.

In addition to eventful history of wars, Poltava is also one of the

cultural centers of Ukraine, where many famous people were born.

So what you are waiting for?...