Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to the mayors of American cities to break the twinning ties with Russian cities.
"You know that dozens of American cities retain so-called twinning with Russian cities. Chicago and Moscow. Jacksonville and Murmansk. San Diego and Vladivostok. Albany and Tula. What do these connections give you? Probably nothing. But they allow Russia to say that it is not isolated even after such a war has started," he said, speaking Saturday via video link to the Conference of Mayors.
"Everyone sees how the Russian army fights and what it does to the peaceful cities of Ukraine... Just imagine: since February 24, Russia has used almost 2,500 different missiles against Ukraine. The vast majority of them are on cities. On urban infrastructure. And some of the deadliest Russian missiles are developed and manufactured in Ekaterinburg. Which, by the way, is still the twin city of San Jose," he said.
He also recalled the mass murders in Bucha.
"I'm sure many of you have seen and heard what Russian soldiers did in our city of Buche. Mass murders, torture of people. The bodies of murdered locals were lying right in the streets while Russian soldiers stayed in town. One of the Russian brigades that did all this against our people in Buchea was a brigade from the Khabarovsk region of Russia. And the capital of that region, the city of Khabarovsk, is still twinned with American Portland," Zelensky said.
He also invited mayors to join in the rebuilding of Ukraine.
"Take patronage of a city, region or industry destroyed by Russian strikes. And rebuild them with the most modern technology. This could be the biggest economic project of our time that will strengthen both Ukraine and every country and every company that will participate in the post-war reconstruction. You can join in the realization of this big project," the president said.
