11 Hungarian Mayors Pledge Help for Ukrainian Sister Cities Before Winter
The heads of seven Hungarian cities and four Budapest districts pledged in an open letter to help their Ukrainian sister cities prepare for winter, as far as they can, and called on other communities to join the initiative. The letter was published on the Budapest city council website, Evropeiska Pravda reports.
The mayors prepared the letter on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1956.
“A defensive war against Russian aggression”
“What the revolution and the struggle for freedom of 1956 were for us, the defensive war against Russian aggression is today for Ukrainians. We strongly condemn the full-scale war unleashed by Russia’s political leadership against Ukraine, which has lasted for more than four and a half years. There can be no historical grievance, political interest or great-power striving for domination that could justify a military invasion of an independent country,” the letter says.
The signatories say that being sister cities is not only about ceremonial agreements, mutual visits and joint events, but about readiness to help each other in trouble — in particular on the eve of a hard winter that may await Ukraine.
The pledge and the call
“Therefore we, the signatories of this statement, undertake to use all available means, as far as we can, to help the respective Ukrainian settlements, paying special attention to preparing for the approaching winter and the most urgent humanitarian needs of the population,” the mayors state.
They urged all Hungarian local governments that have sister-city ties with Ukrainian towns, or intend to establish them, to join, to contact their Ukrainian partners, assess their needs and mobilise residents, institutions, NGOs and businesses. The letter was signed by the mayors of Szeged, Székesfehérvár, Érd, Gödöllő, Hódmezővásárhely, Szombathely and Budaörs, as well as four Budapest districts.
Earlier, Hungarian President András Bóka said Ukraine is now fighting to preserve its independence, just as Hungarians did in 1956. Hungary still does not agree to open clusters 4 and 5 for Ukraine.