“The extent of the destruction that the Russian aggressor caused us is so heavy that it is difficult for us to get out of it alone”, recognizes Iuor Terekhov, the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, twinned with Lille since 1978. which, since the beginning of the war, a year ago, has not failed in its actions of solidarity towards the bruised city. It is for this reason that Martine Aubry’s counterpart is once again calling for help from the inhabitants of the capital of Flanders.
Located just a few kilometers from the border with Russia, Kharkiv was one of the first Ukrainian cities to endure bombardment by Vladimir Putin’s army. And, according to its mayor, Iuor Terekhov, Russian missile strikes are “permanent”, targeting “civilian facilities, apartment buildings, day care centres, buildings, hospitals, markets…” In recent times, the mayor claims that “the enemy concentrates its strikes on critical infrastructures” in this winter period, such as electricity transformer stations, thermal power stations. Still according to him, more than 6,000 buildings have been destroyed in his city over the past year.
“Kharkiv remains invincible and strong”
“Kharkiv remains invincible and strong in its certainty of victory over the enemy,” insists Iuor Terekhov. In fact, in particular thanks to the aid sent by foreign countries, the almost normal functioning of this metropolis of nearly 1.5 million inhabitants continues to be assured. But specific needs are nevertheless felt more strongly: “At the moment, we particularly need generators and medicines for our essential infrastructures”, underlines the mayor of Kharkiv. A call for help which has already found an echo with the services of the city of Lille.
On the municipal budget, Lille is finalizing the acquisition of medium-sized generators to send them to its Ukrainian twin. “We have about fifty for the moment”, assures Martine Aubry. For drugs, the process is running, a convoy of 13 tons having been sent last June, in collaboration with the hospital center (CHU) of Lille. “A second is in preparation to leave at the beginning of March. Half will be provided by the CHU and we need 100,000 euros to finance the other half, ”continues the mayor of Lille. A call for donations was also launched in this regard by the city via the Lille Foundation. There remains the problem of finding certain drugs, “France currently suffering from a shortage of antibiotics”, deplores Martine Aubry.