A German city declined a partnership with a Ukrainian city to maintain its friendship with the Russian city of Kaluga.

A German city has decided to decline the establishment of twin city relations with a Ukrainian city due to concerns about its friendship with the Russian city of Kaluga. This involves the German city of Zül and the Ukrainian city of Podilsk. The city council of the Ukrainian city reached out with a corresponding proposal to the municipal authorities of the German city.

This was reported by the publication Tagesschau. A source familiar with the situation shared that the Ukrainian mayor of Podilsk approached the mayor of Zül in Thuringia, located in eastern Germany, with a proposal to establish twin city relations. However, the Zül city council rejected this initiative, believing that such a move could "endanger the existing partnership with the Russian city of Kaluga." Soon, the authorities of Zül intend to send an official refusal to Podilsk. According to a spokesperson for the city, the letter is still under consideration.

The mayor of Zül, André Knapp, a representative of the CDU, disagreed with the city council's decision and called it strange. In his opinion, a partnership with the Ukrainian city would on the contrary, be a "positive signal". This was reported by the newspaper "Freie Wort."

What is known about the idea of twin cities

According to the Federal Agency for Civic Education, the idea of twin cities emerged mainly after World War II. The rationale was to heal the wounds inflicted on Europe by two world wars. Twin cities have become an effective long-term tool for uniting people from different countries. Activities can vary widely.

In February 2023, the capital of New York State – the city of Albany – became the first American twin city partner of the Ukrainian Bucha, which was under Russian occupation for a month and bravely defended Kyiv against the enemy invasion. In May of last year, nine units of municipal equipment were received by KP "Buchaservis" and KP "Buchazelenbud" from the German twin city of Bergisch Gladbach. This equipment helped in cleaning Bucha.

Additionally, the Bucha community received 270 heaters from the Portuguese twin city of Cascais. They were delivered from Poland to Bucha by the logistics company 4U Logistics. This means that even one city can have multiple twin cities.