Embattled Ukrainian city may twin with Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury could become twinned with an embattled Ukrainian city.

Okhtyrka is just over 200 miles (322km) from the Russian border and has endured intense fighting, artillery shells and air strikes, but has never been occupied.

Labour councillor Rosemary Dartnall put forward the twinning suggestion to a meeting of the town council and it was agreed the idea would be looked into.

She said visits to the city might not be possible at this time, but it would be "an act of friendship and support for those in Okhtyrka at a time of unimaginable crisis".

Shrewsbury was previously twinned with Zutphen in the Netherlands from 1977 to 2018, but the partnership ended due to budget constraints and a review of agreements.

Okhtyrka, in north-east Ukraine, has a population of around 47,000 and it was awarded the honorary title of Hero City of Ukraine in March 2022.

Dartnall said the idea came to her because one of the people living in her division, Mila Prysyazhna, is Ukrainian and runs a charity called Shropshire Supports Ukraine.

She said: "Mila has a contact, Andrii Brynchak, a priest from Lviv – a city in the safest part of Ukraine, who moved his family to help those living in Okhtyrka.

"He has remained there since."

Dartnall pointed out people in Shrewsbury had shown their generosity for the people of Ukraine already, sending aid to the country and housing refugees.

"With the ongoing war in Ukraine, twinning with with a town on the front line seems like a suitable focus for our citizens," she said.

A cross-party working group will report back on the idea on 7 December.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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