The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly has announced the formation of a resident-led work group meant to rally support for the Ukrainian city of Trostyanets, which reportedly survived a month of Russian occupation and is now attempting to rebuild.
Trostyanets Mayor Yuri Bova was one of five Ukrainian mayors who attended the 2023 Cities Summit of the Americas back in April, to seek aid from American allies. He met Mayor Kelly at the summit and the two agreed to further discuss relations between their two cities.
The Chattanooga Mayor’s office announced the resident-led work group claiming it will give Chattanoogans the opportunity to help Trostyanets recover and rebuild.
“By setting up a resident-led effort to determine the best way to expand our engagement and help them rebuild,” said Mayor Kelly, “we’re creating a tangible way for folks to get involved. I invite anyone interested to apply.”
No city tax dollars will be put towards this effort.
The City of Chattanooga currently maintains several sister city relationships with Wuxi (China), Hamm (Germany), Wolfsburg (Germany), Givatayim (Israel), Gangneung (Korea), Nizhnii Tagil (Russia), and Tono (Japan).
Although Trostyanets and Chattanooga are not currently sister cities, it looks as though Mayor Bova has sent Mayor Kelly a proposed agreement to become something quite similar.
Mayor Kelly’s office has conveyed that the Chattanooga City Council will consider the proposal which might “confirm the partnership between the City of Chattanooga and the City of Trostyanets on economic, scientific, technical and cultural-humanitarian cooperation.”
Mayor Bova explains in a letter attached to the agreement draft sent to Mayor Kelly’s office, that Russian occupation has caused significant damage to his town but that the community there wants to “improve its life and establish international relations.”
The Ukrainian mayor goes on to suggest that he and Mayor Kelly keep up correspondence saying, “I hope that our cooperation will result in the signing of an Agreement of Cooperation at the municipal level and will bring our cooperation to a new level.”
The drafted document covers a responsibility of both parties, to establish “mutual cooperation” regarding urban development, environmental protection, technology, healthcare, job creation, tourism, sports, and establishing close contacts between young people and youth organizations among many other things.
According to the document’s final provisions, if Mayor Kelly joins into this agreement, it “shall be subject to approval by the Trostyanets City Council and the Municipality of Chattanooga within 6 months from the date of signing and shall enter into force one month after the date of its approval by both Parties.”
As drafted, the agreement would be valid for five years and unless terminated by one party, would automatically renew itself for another five-year period.
This takes place just a few short months after the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) put out a press release stating that the government agency intended to provide $650,000 to Ukraine to assist in digital transformation of the country’s government services.
It seems Chattanooga does not intend to funnel taxpayer dollars into Ukraine but may wish to aid in its rebuild and cultivate diplomacy in the way that sister city relationships appear to do.
Still, some Chattanoogans remain quite wary of partnering with the foreign country. “I think we need to be extremely cautious entering into any relationship in a volatile region of the world,” Council Member Darrin Ledford told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. “This tiptoes, in my mind, into foreign policy.”
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
3 Responses
And how many followers of Stepan Bandera will come.
The Ukraine has a Nazi Legacy.
Enough already! Squandered or missing aid and military assistance money running into the billions of dollars. Political corruption involving both countries. Propaganda, misinformation, and a pointless war. Oh, and actual honest to God Nazis as the icing on the corrupt cake. Of course Tim Kelly would embrace all of that.
How much is this JOKE going to cost Tax payer on top of the BILLION $$$$ the Biden regime has given away???