BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A delegation of Burlington residents returned last week from a trip to war-torn Ukraine to visit the Queen City’s new sister city for the first time.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Burlington severed relations with the Russian city of Yaroslavl. In one of his last acts as Burlington mayor, Miro Weinberger in April signed a sister city agreement with the Ukranian community of Kuyalnyk.
Kuyalnyk is no longer just a far-away connection after Vermonters put boots on the ground for a week-long visit last month. The community is located in the southwest of Ukraine and is home to expansive farming and agriculture.
“We learned a lot about what their goals are and what their needs are, and we see a lot of opportunities. For our community, not just Burlington, but we think all of Vermont and beyond can come together and help on some of these very acute issues,” said Adam Roof, who helped forge the partnership.
He first traveled there at the beginning of the war to help provide aid and led the latest trip. Burlington resident Avery Anderson was among the participants. “There were air raid sirens going off all this time, significant power outages, no men were present. Every day there was a minute of silence to honor the fallen soldiers,” Anderson said.
Though no on-the-ground fighting is happening in the region, the scars of war are everywhere. The nearby city of Odessa is also a frequent target of rocket attacks.
While there, the group forged relationships and witnessed all aspects of daily life including hospitals, schools, government, and domestic life.
“The hospitality that these people demonstrated was unrivaled with anything I’ve ever experienced and it was truly beautiful,” Anderson said.
Kuyalnyk only has electricity for about three hours a day. Roof says the group hopes to help the city develop more solar generation. “The most immediate thing that we can take action on I think is creating a connection between solar professionals here in Vermont and solar professionals in Ukraine to help with their power issues,” he said.
Kelly Devine with the Burlington Business Association says she learned about the ways she can direct help to the community. “Was able to talk to them a lot about kind of the process of how business works here — which is different than there — and what we could potentially offer from both a small business perspective and then from some infrastructure perspective for Ukraine,” she said.
Burlington officials hope to welcome a Kuyalnyk delegation to the Queen City in the future. The focus right now is on helping the community during wartime, but those in the delegation hope Burlington can benefit in the future when it comes to agriculture and other issues.