Mayor of Paris visits Kyiv in expression of solidarity

The Ukrainian capital received honorary citizenship from Paris last month for its courageous defence against the Russian occupants

The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, visited yesterday the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, as she reported on social media. Hidalgo has been invited by Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko. As part of the visit, she congratulated her counterpart for the courageous defence against the aggressor and co-signed a pact of friendship between the two cities.

Kyiv to raise up with the support of European mayors

Yesterday, the mayors of the capitals of France and Ukraine met on Ukrainian soil to formalise and strengthen their bond in these critical times. As TheMayor.EU had reported earlier, Paris awarded Kyiv honorary citizenship status to Kyiv in March – an act approved unanimously by the city council.

The symbolic recognition is a strong gesture of solidarity and support for the efforts of local citizens and their leadership against Russian aggression. The 20-year old list of honorary citizens of Paris comprises journalists, human rights advocates and activists, among which Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, former President of Brazil, and Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa.

Hidalgo further points out that during her visit, she also met Ukrainian civil society actors who told her about their daily life since the beginning of the war. They discussed the cultural and urban projects that will be at the heart of the partnership between the two cities.

Anne Hidalgo (4th from L-R) met various political, judicial and civil-society actors during her visit to the Ukrainian capital.
Source: Anne Hidalgo on Facebook

Hidalgo also met Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova and the deputies Lesia Vasylenko, Alona Shkrum and Dmytro Natalukha, before visiting the “martyr towns of Bucha, Irpin and Borodyanka”, to pay tribute to the massacred civilians and to support the mayors in this ordeal.

“The scenes of chaos remind us that we have to be there for the Ukrainians. Paris will be at their side to rebuild,” Hidalgo concluded.