Despite the war in Ukraine, municipalities of the European Union continue to cooperate with Ukrainian hromadas, in particular on April 29 a partnership agreement was signed between the Ukmergė District Municipality of Lithuania and Korosten municipality in Zhytomyr oblast.

The signing took place online during “Bridges of Trust: Empowering Ukrainian and EU Municipalities through Building Municipal Partnerships” event, organised by the U-LEAD with Europe Programme, as informed by Ukrinform news agency.

The agreement was signed by Ukmergė Mayor Rolandas Janickas and Korosten municipality head Volodymyr Moskalenko.

“Korosten has suffered from Russian aggression – its schools, kindergartens, houses were bombed, there are dead and wounded locals. Therefore, it is so kind of Lithuanian friends to support Ukraine in such a difficult time. We are grateful to our friends from Ukmergė who sent humanitarian aid... which is distributed among our people, IDPs, low-income people, we appreciate it very much,” said Volodymyr Moskalenko.

In turn, Rolandas Janickas said that Ukraine is at the forefront of defending European values, and one can learn the real unity from Ukrainians that helps fight the enemy.

Heads of municipalities expressed hope for successful cooperation in various fields and mutual visits after the end of military actions.

U-LEAD helps to establish partnerships between Ukrainian and EU municipalities.

Under the agreement, the parties agree to develop economic, cultural and tourism cooperation, strengthen friendly relations and, if necessary, help each other by providing financial, charitable / humanitarian assistance.

Areas of cooperation include economy, public services, energy, education, culture, humanitarian aid. The parties undertake, in cooperation with the local authorities, to promote the development of joint projects and exchange of best practices in the areas covered by the agreement. It is also planned to organize joint events and working meetings, exchange delegations of relevant public authorities, non-governmental organizations and business entities.

In addition, the Ukrainian and Lithuanian municipalities will develop friendly relations between their residents, in particular between delegations in the field of arts and culture, facilitating exchange of pupils, students, athletes and other delegations.

The municipalities also plan to exchange information about the history and life of municipalities (for example, photographs, audiovisual materials) and advertisements in local media. They will support each other in international competitions and will provide support during difficult times.