UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Apr. 21 — On Apr. 13, Kupiansk, a city east of Kharkiv oblast, signed a partnership memorandum with Windsor, a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. While not a formal “Sister City,” the agreement allows both cities to cooperate in various areas, said Michael Janisse, a senior manager in the communications department at Windsor City Hall, to Gwara Media.

Since Feb. 3, the live map made by DeepState, an OSINT war monitoring group, has shown that Ukrainian forces liberated the southern part of Kupiansk, while the northern part was marked as occupied by Russians.

Andrii Besedin, head of the Kupiansk military administration, said that local authorities will work with new partners to rebuild the Kupiansk community.

Kupiansk and Windsor plan to cooperate in industry, education, culture, arts, tourism, sports, joint initiatives and activities, projects, programs, and more, said Janisse.

The decision to sign such a partnership memorandum was made out of respect for the people who moved to Windsor because of the threat of Russian attacks. Janisse said that nearly 10,000 Ukrainians live in Windsor and the surrounding area. Also, Canada is home to more than 1.5 million people of Ukrainian descent – the second-largest Ukrainian population outside Ukraine itself.

“This show of support for Kupiansk provided an opportunity for the City of Windsor to tell its Ukrainian residents – many of whom had difficult journeys here, and many of whom have loved ones facing dangers overseas – that we are honored that they consider Windsor home,” said Janisse.

The Windsor authorities also provided support for power generators for Ukrainian cities in need, he said.

Besedin asked Drew Dilkens, Windsor’s Mayor, to visit Ukraine together with his colleagues.

Janisse said to Gwara that, at present, there are no plans for members of the International Relations Committee to travel to Ukraine, but this may be revisited as circumstances evolve.

Windsor is located on the US-Canada border on the banks of the Detroit river. It’s an important transport and economic hub between the two countries — and also a major contributor to Canada’s automotive industry.

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