On July 11 in Rome, five new partnership agreements were signed between Ukrainian communities and municipalities from four EU countries. These partnerships are now part of the Cities4Cities community within the “International Municipal Cooperation” sphere of the Polaris Programme "Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine", funded by Sida and implemented by SALAR International.

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The signing took place during the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2025) — a high-level international event dedicated to the post-war recovery and long-term reconstruction of Ukraine.

Today, the Cities4Cities partner-municipal community brings together over 80 municipalities from Ukraine and across Europe.

Newly signed partnerships:

• Dniprorudne – Bad Oldesloe (Germany)
• Dniprorudne – Bari (Italy)
• Uman – Medicina (Italy)
• Poltava – Kalmar (Sweden)
• Poltava – Akershus (Norway)

At the URC, representatives of Khmelnytskyi and Caen (France) also met in for the first time – a connection made possible with the support of the friendly NGO Stand with Ukraine.

 

Brief on each partnership

 

Dniprorudne – Bad Oldesloe (Ukraine – Germany)

The partnership began in 2023 as an initiative of the German municipality. Bad Oldesloe was the first city to support Dniprorudne, which remains under temporary Russian occupation.

Focus areas: education; cultural exchange; humanitarian aid; community initiatives.

 

Dniprorudne – Bari (Ukraine – Italy)

A new partnership where collaboration is just beginning — with plans for cultural projects, education, infrastructure, and humanitarian support.

 

Poltava – Kalmar (Ukraine – Sweden)

This partnership was initiated at the Lviv Municipal Partnership Forum and quickly evolved from humanitarian assistance to long-term cooperation.

Focus areas: cultural heritage; urban planning; environmental protection; education; youth policy; crisis response.

 

Poltava – Akershus (Ukraine – Norway)

This partnership was initiated independently by the two communities and, following the official signing, has joined the Cities4Cities community.

Focus areas: recovery support; knowledge exchange; local governance development; strategic planning.

 

Uman – Medicina (Ukraine – Italy)

Focus areas: culture and tourism; education and youth exchanges; social initiatives; support for democracy and European values.