A Canada-Ukraine flag flies in Smiths Falls as a show of support
Smiths Falls is considering a twinning agreement with a municipality in Ukraine, which would see the two municipalities share ideas about a variety of topics.
They were approached by Walter Palagniuk about the possibility.
15 municipalities across Canada have a twinning agreement with a Ukrainian town, and there’s been six new relationships since the Russian invasion three years ago, including the municipality of North Grenville in 2023.
One town Palagniuk proposed to twin with Smiths Falls is Bucha (Kyiv region), an area that was under Russian occupation for over a month.
Bucha was one of six listed municipalities as potential twin partners. The others are Zolochiv (Lviv), Kaniv (Cherkasy), Ostroh (Rivine), Storozhynets (Chernivtsi), and Bila (Ternopil).
The delegation took place not only on the third anniversary of the invasion, but mere hours after the United States, North Korea, and Iran were the only countries who announced public support to the Russians for that advance.
Mayor Shawn Pankow, who is of Ukrainian descent, discussed the importance of support and collaboration.
Council expressed their support about a partnership and will explore the idea further.
Story by Grant Deme
