Mayor of Peterborough's twinned city in Ukraine says it's a 'pity' ties have weakened as he calls for greater support

It’s a “pity” ties between Peterborough and its twinned city of Vinnytsia are not as strong as they once were, the mayor of the Ukrainian city has said.

Serhiy Morhunov, head of Vinnytsia City Council, has called on Peterborough City Council to re-engage with the twinning programme as Ukraine navigates the effects of Russia’s invasion.

“Having things from you like humanitarian cargo is not a priority,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) with the support of a translator.

“Of course, Ukraine needs equipment and weapons, but most importantly we need international support in our struggle for human rights against the Russian federation.”

The city is also in need of “expertise” he said, in delivering infrastructure, environmental projects and social and administrative services, which the council could provide.

Peterborough’s mayor, Cllr Nick Sandford (Liberal Democrats, Paston and Walton), says he will hold a meeting with council staff to discuss how they can strengthen ties with Vinnytsia and that any recommendations that come forward will then go through the usual decision-making processes.

The council’s leader, Cllr Mohammed Farooq (Peterborough First, Hargate and Hempsted) has also said his administration would “welcome” greater collaboration.

Twinning links have weakened over time

Peterborough and Vinnystia have been twinned since 1991, meaning an agreement was drawn up to promote cultural and commercial ties between them.

Delegations from each city have visited each other several times since then, with most visits taking place during the 2000s.

Mr Morhunov, a member of the centrist Ukrainian Strategy of Groysman party, visited Peterborough in 2004 and 2007, saying he found it to be “a city of stability” with an “interesting history” and “sincere and open-minded people”.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Peterborough sent Vinnytsia clothes, food, sleeping bags and other supplies, for which Mr Morhunov said the city is “really, really thankful”.

He also tried to visit last year but was unable to obtain a visa, according to Cllr Sandford, while a delegation from Peterborough was unable to get insurance to cover a potential visit because of Home Office advice to British citizens not to travel to Ukraine.

To mark the second anniversary of the invasion, councillors in Peterborough stood for the national anthem of Ukraine at the beginning of a council meeting, while initiatives aimed at supporting it have continued among individual councillors, community groups and the public.

The twinning partnership has, though, generally weakened, which Cllr Sandford says could be because there are no longer council staff specifically delegated to work on it.

Cities could collaborate on business, healthcare and education

But Mr Morhunov is full of ideas of how the partnership could flourish again.

“We do believe we have great potential to develop relationships with the community of Peterborough,” he said. “For example, on energy efficiency and environmental initiatives. We know Peterborough is a leader among other English cities, while recycling is one of the greatest challenges for our community.”

He continued that it would be “beneficial to have connections between businesses” and to share insights about healthcare: Vinnytsia’s medics have learnt much over the past two years about the rehabilitation of injured soldiers, offering “psychological and mental support” to them and their families and on dealing with phantom pain, he said.

Mr Morhunov would also like to “deepen the work between schools”, he said, such as by having teachers train and deliver classes in both cities and by having a summer exchange for children.

Of the 46,000 internally displaced people in Vinnytsia, around 10,000 are children, who could also benefit, he added.

Communication between ordinary citizens could also help

Asked how ordinary people in Peterborough can help Vinnytsia, Mr Morhunov said international support for Ukraine’s freedom, independence and human rights is paramount.

“It’s really important for us that the whole of Europe understands that we need to protect not only Ukraine but also the entirety of the world from the Russian federation,” he said, adding that he’s “thankful” to the government and “also personally Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak” for their military and humanitarian support.

Communication between Peterborough and Vinnytsia could also bring relief, he said, because while the city is now “more or less peaceful”, the impacts of war are felt every day, with lots of citizens having lost family members.

“Citizens of Vinnytsia could share their ideas and emotions,” he said, “and also what is happening at the moment in the city.”

Vinnytsia was attacked by Russian missiles in July 2022, killing 27 people including three children and wounding 80 more.

The city holds a minute’s silence every day at 9am to commemorate their dead, Mr Morhunov said, and has a special memorial zone for citizens to mourn and reflect on the impacts of the ongoing war.