A campaign to provide moral and financial support to the Ukrainian city of Siversk kicks off at Town Hall on Wednesday evening, June 28 at 5:00.

Weston and Siversk, an embattled city a few short miles from the front lines, are in a Sister City Partnership facilitated by the nonprofit Ukraine Aid International organization.

The effort “is more than a gesture,” said First Selectwoman Samantha Nestor. “It comes from the very heart of what Weston is all about, a spirit of generosity, an awareness that regardless of distance we are connected to those whose circumstances are very, very different from ours.”

Expect to learn more about Siversk, Weston’s partnership, and Ukrainian culture at the event on the 28th. The group formed to organize the effort will also be at the Lachat Farmers Market on June 30.

It all began in a virtual meeting on May 12 between Ms. Nestor and Siversk Mayor Alexei Vorobyov, who spoke about how the city has been “flattened,” its infrastructure destroyed, schools obliterated by bombs, most children sent away, and dire living conditions for the fraction of the population who remain, still under attack by Russian artillery.

“Even if a piece of the American heart comes into Siversk, it will make the Siversk heart much bigger,” said Mr. Vorobyov.

The objective is to raise funds to purchase a trash truck for Siversk (theirs were destroyed, piles of garbage are becoming a health hazard), two armored vehicles to evacuate civilians during attacks, washing machines for a community laundry, and filtration systems to provide clean drinking water.

The local effort

The Weston steering committee organized by the First Selectwoman already has more than a dozen members. (More are welcome. Email Ms. Nestor to learn more.)

The committee is chaired by Iryna Akolzina, a resident who grew up in Ukraine, and is vice-chaired by Kirby Brendsel.

“The Weston–Siversk Sister City Partnership is nothing but a pure act of kindness,” said Ms. Akolzina.

“There is a Ukrainian idiom,” she said, “Dobro zavzhdy peremahaye zlo, which means ‘kindness always triumphs over evil.’”

“So, this partnership brings us closer to the victory that all Ukrainians are praying for every day. And one Ukrainian town, among many others, which lost most of its population due to the war, will be alive because we will be supporting Siversk during these hard times. One day people will come back to live there happily ever after.”

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