site.btaMayors of Sofia and Kyiv Discuss Cooperation

Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova spoke online with Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the Sofia City Hall said on its website Wednesday. The talks took place during Fandakova’s meeting with the Deputy Mayor of Kyiv responsible for sports and youth activities, Olena Hovorova, who is paying a working visit to Sofia. The meeting was attended by the Ukrainian Ambassador Olesia Ilashchuk and the Head of Sofia City Council’s Committee on Education, Culture, Science, and Cultural Diversity, Malina Edreva.

"Support for Ukraine helps us to stay strong, and I would like to thank you and Sofia’s citizens for the support you have lent to Ukrainian women and children in your city," Klitschko said. He also expressed his gratitude to Fandakova for the cooperation initiatives in the two capitals in the fields of culture, sport, and childcare. "What happens now in Ukraine is not a special operation; it is not even a war, because the rules of war forbid targeting women and children. The whole world witnessed the photos of killed women and children," Klitschko added. He also talked about the consequences of war and the problems Kyiv and its residents face. "We, the Ukrainian people, would like to be part of the European family," he said.

Fandakova assured Klitschko that she and her team have supported Kyiv from day one of the war, and this support has been clear, consistent, and firm. "Your power as a mayor lies in your determination to do whatever is needed to keep life in the Ukrainian capital going," she added. Fandakova said that children are the biggest victims of the war and congratulated Olesia Ilashchuk for the fact that the children in Kyiv have returned to their classrooms for the new school year despite the war and that Klitschko’s administration is making sure they can keep studying and playing sports.

At the end of the discussions, Klitschko invited Fandakova to visit Kyiv.

On April 7, 2022, Sofia City Council adopted a decision to hoist the Ukrainian flag on Sofia Municipality’s administrative building next to the Bulgarian one for as long as the war lasts, as a sign of solidarity with the tragedy of the Ukrainian people.