"Friendship at the Community Level is Another Step Toward European Unity": Delegation from Münster Arrives in Vinnytsia

On August 4, a delegation from Münster headed by the mayor of the German city, Markus Lewe, arrived in Vinnytsia. Together with Vinnytsia Mayor Serhii Morhunov, they discussed further cooperation in various areas and solemnly signed a bilateral partnership agreement between our cities.

During the conversation, the leaders of both communities identified areas in which cooperation and exchange of experience will continue. These include the environment in terms of the implementation of the European Green Deal, energy, as well as medicine, education, culture and the development of museum activities, for which the German city is famous.

"We are also considering the possibility of internships for our students in Münster. In addition, we discussed support in terms of consultations in the field of urban space reconstruction and planning, in particular, the development of a bicycle network," said Vinnytsia Mayor Serhii Morhunov.

The mayor of Münster, Markus Lewe, also noted that it would be valuable to share experience in crisis management and ways to address various challenges.

"I saw such strength, such unity, such optimism and faith in the future in the eyes of Vinnytsia residents that I was immediately convinced that this is the best weapon against the russian aggressor. Our cities have a lot in common: the central location in the country and a large number of higher education institutions, so we really have many opportunities for fruitful cooperation," said Markus Lewe.

According to Serhii Morhunov, the most important task for the whole of Ukraine today is to win the bloody war against the russian aggressor. And the support of foreign partners in this direction is of great importance.

"Friendship at the community level is another step towards European unity. We have a reliable and good friend in Mr. Markus Lewe and the entire community of Münster, because they have been helping us a lot since the beginning of the full-scale war. On behalf of all Vinnytsia residents, I would like to thank the team of this German city for the help they provided us. It was a significant support for our medical facilities and invincibility points that we deployed last winter. I am grateful that Markus came to Vinnytsia with his team even though the war is still ongoing in the country. This is a demonstration of solidarity with Ukraine and the people of Vinnytsia and strong support. In the future, in the united family of the European community, we will be able to achieve a lot together in terms of the development of the country and our local community in particular," said Serhii Morhunov.

As a reminder, Münster City Council decided to establish partnerships with Vinnytsia in early December 2022. A little later, in March of this year, our cities signed a solidarity partnership agreement. At the same time, representatives of the Polish city of Lublin also expressed their desire to work in a trilateral format.

In fact, from the very beginning of the great war, Münster began to provide our community with numerous humanitarian aid in the form of generators, mobile kitchens, dishes, food, modern exercise equipment and other means for rehabilitating patients.

In addition, the community of Münster hosted a group of children from the families of the Defenders for a vacation. Our partners organized excursions, interesting trainings and other events for Vinnytsia children to restore their mental health.