All about the solidarity partnership

Since February 24, 2022, the Russian army's invasion of Ukraine, with all its consequences for the country and the whole world, has been the focus of our attention and concern. The effects of the war can also be felt here in Erlangen. Not only did we succeed in setting up structures to take in refugees at the beginning of March with the great support of volunteers - we are currently offering refuge to around 1,500 people from Ukraine - but a large number of local projects have also been set up, including aid transports to the war zone. A whole network of clubs and associations - above all the Verein der Ukrainer in Franken und Brücken e.V. (Association of Ukrainians in Franconia and Bridges) - deal with integration issues.

Shortly after the war began, the idea of establishing contact with a city in Ukraine was born. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development soon suggested establishing German-Ukrainian solidarity partnerships and providing funds for this purpose, which Erlangen has already taken up. In recent weeks, Federal President Frank Walter Steinmeier and his colleague, Volodymyr Selenskyj, made an urgent appeal to German municipalities and districts to enter into cooperation with Ukraine at local level.

Erlangen and Jena had already established contact with Browary, a city of 100,000 inhabitants near Kiev founded in the 17th century, in the early summer of 2022 and then jointly decided in the fall to enter into a solidarity partnership with the Ukrainian municipality, which will initially be active mainly in the field of humanitarian aid, but will also take up civic exchange as soon as possible. Browary is, as the name suggests, characterized by the brewing industry, but before the war it was also characterized by a diverse structure of trade and industry and is home to a sports training center where, among others, the Klitschko brothers trained.

Browary came under heavy fire from the Russian army in March 2022 and - as of December 2022 - is home to around 20,000 internally displaced persons. The power, water and district heating cuts are particularly bad due to Moscow's massive attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, which hit the greater Kiev area particularly hard.