Connecticut has signed a sister-state agreement with a province in eastern Ukraine that’s been the site of heavy fighting since the Russian military invasion in 2022.
Governor Ned Lamont said at the signing ceremony on Thursday that the agreement will foster social, cultural, economic, humanitarian, and educational exchanges.
He said it would encourage cooperation between the people of Connecticut and the people of the Ukrainian province of Donetsk Oblast.
“I see the incredible pressure they are under every day by the Soviet onslaught. And we want to make sure the people know that we are standing with them,” Lamont said.
“This may be symbolic in terms of cultural and economic, but I think it’s more than that, it reminds people we are there with you,” he said
The support is appreciated by his people who’ve endured a lot of grief since the invasion, said Governor Vadym Filashkin of Donetsk Oblast, speaking through an interpreter.
“As of today, 4,090 civilians have been killed, and 290 children. The region would hardly manage without the support of reliable friends,” Filashkin said. The agreement was signed virtually with Lamont at his office in Hartford and Filashkin at his office in a bunker in Donetsk Oblast.
Lamont was joined by mayors and first selectmen from several Fairfield County, Connecticut towns that have also entered into sister-city agreements with Ukrainian municipalities.
The towns include Fairfield, Westport, Easton, Ridgefield, Weston, Greenwich, and the city of Stamford.
