This agreement marks the first time a Ukrainian Territorial Community government has forged a diplomatic relationship abroad since the independence of Ukraine from Soviet centralization
VermontBiz Friday, Mayor Weinberger was joined on a video conference by Serhiy Palamarchuk, Head of Kuyalnyk Community, and the leaders simultaneously signed the new Kuyalnyk-Burlington Partnership Agreement. Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament representing the Odesa region, also attended and spoke at the ceremony. The signing follows the unanimous approval of the new Sister City relationship by the Burlington City Council on March 25 following a presentation and deliberation which was watched live by Kuyalnyk officials at approximately midnight their local time.
The new relationship was facilitated by USAID and supported by Burlingtonians Adam Roof and Colin Hilliard. Ukrainian officials shared that this new Sister City relationship is historically the first of any such agreement between a Ukrainian Territorial Community and a foreign City government since the independence of Ukraine from Soviet centralization. Also on the video call was Olena Ivanova, representing the Odesa Regional Development Agency.
“Ukrainians are dying and suffering on the front lines of the long struggle between democracy and authoritarianism, and Burlington is safer for their sacrifice,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger. “At a time when the federal government is struggling to continue the support that has repulsed Russia’s full-scale invasion, Burlington has commenced a relationship focused on aid, rebuilding, local democracy, and mutual learning that will be valuable to both communities for many years to come.”
In his last State of the City address one year ago, Mayor Weinberger announced his intent to form a new Sister City relationship with a community in Ukraine and to offer sustained help and attention through the war effort and the long years of rebuilding to follow. Weinberger commissioned Roof and Hilliard – who had delivered vast private aid to Ukraine in the first year of the war – to identify a partner city and create such a new relationship. At the time the Mayor said, “All free people owe Ukrainians a solemn debt for their courageous and inspiring stand against 21st century authoritarianism.”
The Sister City agreement commits both communities to develop economic, cultural, and tourism partnerships and strengthen friendly relations. Areas of future partnership will include economy, municipal services, energy, education, culture, and medical advancement. Future delegations from the municipalities including non-governmental and business leaders will work together to develop friendly ties and support the other goals of the agreement.
Following the signing ceremony, MP Goncharenko walked outside and used his phone camera to show shipping vessels in the Black Sea laden with Ukrainian grain destined for ports around the world. Russia had blocked such shipments early in the war. Goncharenko thanked the United States for the support that helped reopen the trading routes.
Mayor Weinberger noted that the day before he took office nearly 12 years ago, Burlington’s Russian Sister City Yaroslavl also elected a new mayor, Yevgeny Urlashov, in a landslide victory. However, Urlashov, an independent and high-profile critic of Putin, was suspended from office a little over a year later, imprisoned, and remains in jail today. After Urlashov’s imprisonment, Weinberger declined multiple invitations to visit Yaroslavl, and on March 3, 2022, days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, Weinberger suspended the diplomatic relationship.
On Friday, Weinberger said to Palamarchuk, Head of Kuyalnyk Community, “On one of my final days in office I am grateful to be able to sign this new agreement with a true mayor, a free mayor.”
About Kuyalnyk Village Territorial Community
The Kuyalnyck Village Territorial Community has a population close to 20,000 and an administrative center in the town of Kuyalnyk (Podilsk district, Odesa region). Kuyalnyck has demonstrated resilience in the face of regional challenges, including providing support to wounded soldiers.
They have a rich cultural heritage, including their famed borscht festival and thirty-four culture centers, including the Birzulyany folk choir, which has been performing for more than ten years. The economic sector of the Kuyalnyck Community is focused on the cultivation of agricultural crops, livestock, beekeeping, and entrepreneurship. Kuyalnyck is working to diversify its economy, particularly through the development of technology and tourism industries.
