"Today our thoughts are with Ukraine. For the past days we have been helping cities in Ukraine and we will not stop offering our help. We are meeting today to discuss what we can do to further support Ukraine. As the level of government closest to citizens, central governments must also listen to our views. We will not stand by and watch the terror unfold whilst human rights and democracy are attacked." Aleksandra Dulkiewicz Mayor of Gdansk and European Committee of the Regions (CoR) chair of the Working group on Ukraine made these remarks during a meeting with mayors from across Europe.
The meeting was attended by representatives of various bodies including the CoR, Eurocities, the Union of Baltic Cities (UBC), the European association for Local Democracy (ALDA), METREX, Metropolis and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions.
Sergiy Orlov, Deputy Mayor of Mariupol said "Until 24th February, Mariupol was a peaceful and developing city with a programme to build a new airport and a new medical campus as well as to reconstruct parks and open new social centers. Today our city is in ruins full of tears." Orlov added that people in Ukraine are fighting for democracy and freedom and appealed for unity to fight the Russian regime.
Daria Kaleniuk from the International Centre for Ukrainian Victory appealed for further immediate actions in defense of Ukraine. She called on Mayors to make pressure so that more weapons are provided to the Ukrainian army, to do a full embargo with regards to business with Russia, to kick out Russian elites from cities and regions, to seize all assets of Russian oligarchs and to cut any ties with sister cities in Russia. Kaleniuk also spoke on the need of a Marshal plan to rebuild Ukraine and on the need of a swift accession to the EU.
During the meeting Mayors discussed a draft resolution through which European mayors call on European governments and the European Commissions to raise efforts and end the war. The resolution calls for European solidarity to work swiftly to support refugees and to avoid the biggest crisis since WWII. The resolution also demands all trade relations with Russian and Belarus to halt until the Russian army withdraws from Ukraine, calls on mayors of the world to speak in once voice, and for war crimes to be documented for use in future trials.