Mayors of Budapest, Bratislava, Prague, and Warsaw paid a surprise visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, where they discussed a plan to set up a platform for long-term aid and reconstruction of Ukrainian cities and towns.
“On Wednesday, at the invitation of Vitali Klitschko, I came to Kiyv for a meeting with the mayors of Warsaw, Bratislava and Budapest. On behalf of the Covenant of Free Cities, we express here our full support to Ukraine and have talked about further cooperation,” tweeted Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hříb.
Covenant of Free Cities is an organisation set up by the four mayors of Visegrad countries’ capital cities. Later, it grew to 26 members, including Kyiv.
According to Bratislava Mayor Matúš Vallo, the main topic was the platform, which would help better coordinate the aid to Ukrainian municipalities.
“Requests for help from Ukrainian cities range from repairs of critical infrastructure, financial aid, ambulances, buses to holiday camps for children. To improve both the quality and volume of this diverse assistance at the city level, we have designed a matchmaking platform,” Vallo wrote on Instagram.
“Ukrainian cities will write their needs and requirements into the system in order of priority. Donor cities will be able to keep track of whether they are able to fulfil some of the requests or register in the system how they can help in other ways,” Vallo added.
The mayors also promised Klitschko more immediate help. Bratislava will donate 25 buses, Budapest 20 and Warsaw 60 metro train cars. In December, Prague sent 400 heaters and ten power stations to Kyiv, and also twenty trams, buses, ambulances and rescue trucks.
On Thursday, Vallo, Hříb, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzazkowski visited the city of Bucha, where the Russian army committed a massacre against Ukrainians.
(Michal Hudec | EURACTIV.sk)
Source: euractiv.com
