The Kopychyntsi urban community (Ternopil region) has signed a partnership memorandum with Roßdorf (Federal Republic of Germany).

The signed document is the result of the community’s active international engagement, forming part of a large-scale strategy to establish twinning links with municipalities across Europe. A delegation from Germany, led by Roßdorf’s mayor, Sören Steinberg, visited Kopychyntsi to learn about key social initiatives, the work of the local hospital, the humanitarian headquarters, and the relocated businesses.

According to Bohdan Kelichavyi, Head of the Kopychyntsi community, the partnership creates new opportunities for sharing experiences, collaborating on joint projects, and pooling resources:

‘We do not stop, but continue to open Kopychyntsi to the world,’ he said.

This is the community’s eighth international partnership, following collaborations with municipalities in Italy, Sweden, Turkey, Belgium, Norway and the UK. And now, Germany.

Currently, the Ternopil region has 110 formal agreements on international cooperation. The communities of Chortkiv (nine agreements), Ternopil (seven), Kopychyntsi (eight) and Ozerna (four) have been particularly active in developing partnerships. A total of 27 communities in the region are working systematically to create and expand a network of partner municipalities. Partnerships have been established with municipalities in Poland, Germany, France, the United States, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, Norway, Moldova and the United Kingdom, among other countries.

These processes form part of a wider national trend. As of April 2025, 487 Ukrainian communities had concluded 2,101 cooperation agreements with partners from 64 countries.

As reported earlier, Ternopil hosted an international conference on 29 April titled ‘Communities without Borders: From Support to Sustainable Development’, dedicated to Sister Cities International Day. The event brought together Ukrainian and European community representatives, as well as diplomatic missions and government agencies, to share a vision of international partnership as a platform for sustainable development, experience exchange and European integration, not just aid.