Magdeburg helps in Ukraine
SInstead of cultural exchange, it is now about helping the people in the twin town. In March and April 2022, a few weeks after the start of the war, Magdeburg and the university hospital sent medical supplies such as bandages and medicines to the city in southern Ukraine. Mayor Trümper had previously written a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin calling for the immediate end of the war.
It is incomprehensible to me how a country that had painful war experiences with millions of deaths in World War II now starts a war against its neighbor in the 21st century. I strongly condemn this violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine!
Even under Trümper’s successor Simone Borris, Magdeburg continues to stand by its sister city. After the illegal annexation by Russia in September 2022, the city of Magdeburg published a reaction from the mayor. The partnership with Zaporizhia endured even in these difficult times. “For us, Zaporizhia will remain a city in Ukraine,” Borris is quoted as saying. There were also appeals for donations.
Six partnerships with Russian cities
While Magdeburg is the only city in Saxony-Anhalt that maintains a partnership in the Ukraine, cooperation with Russian cities is far more common. Many of these have existed since the 1990s. Partnerships currently exist between Zerbst and Puschkin, Zeitz and Kaliningrad, Halle and Ufa, Bitterfeld-Wolfen and Dzerzhinsk, and between the district of Stendal and Jarzewo. In addition, the municipality of Barleben and the district of Börde have had a cooperation agreement with the city of Omsk in Russia since 2017.
