Bath-Oleksandriya partnership set to be formalised
Bath residents have been fundraising for the Ukrainian city for several months
An unofficial partnership between the City of Bath and another in Ukraine could be formalised tomorrow (March 16), after months of fundraising by West Country residents.
Oleksandriya stands on the Ingulets river in the Kirovohradska oblast in central Ukraine and has a population similar to Bath.
Set up after the start of the war a group called Friends of Oleksandriya began raising money to buy electric generators for the city because of several similarities to Bath.
They sent 13 to Oleksandriya in January, and in February held a concert at Bath Abbey to support the city, which raised just under £17,000.
Now, the scheme is considered such a success that Bath and North East Somerset Council will vote on Thursday March 16 on starting a formal “friendship agreement” with the Ukrainian city.
Council leader Kevin Guy has written to Serhii Kuzmenko, the Mayor of Oleksandriya, to tell him of the plans.
One of the Friends of Oleksandriya's founding members is Zhenya Shkil, a Bathford local of Ukrainian origin, who is now the official representative for Oleksandriya in the United Kingdom.
She said in January: “Oleksandriya is a small city of similar size to Bath, with surrounding villages, similar to North East Somerset.
“It has become a major centre for refugees and the injured and needs help to cope with the influx of people, as well as the effects of Russian attacks on infrastructure.”
Less formal than a twinning arrangement, a friendship agreement was seen as the best way to quickly establish ties with the city.
Bath and North East Somerset previously had such an agreement with the Chinese city of Jingdezhen and province of Jiangxi, but broke this off in November over concerns about human rights in China.
Councillors will vote on approving the plan for a friendship agreement with Oleksandriya at a session of full council on March 16 at Bath’s Guildhall.