Barcelona will soon send electric generators to the Ukrainian capital to face the low temperatures and a crane to remove rubble
Vitaliy Klitschko thanks the mayor for the visit and the support of Barcelona, and affirms that his country wants to be in “the European family and not in the Russian empire”
“Five people died in the attack on this building. One was a pregnant woman & rdquor ;, The mayor of kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, explained this Friday to Ada Colau, in a visit in which he was shown one of the areas attacked by Russia, on Zhylianska street. A missile killed the five people on October 17. The former boxer recalled that 678 properties have been the object of similar attacks in the city.
The mayoress of Barcelona and her Kievite counterpart met after 11 o’clock in the kyiv City Hall where they met before approaching the destroyed building, which contrasts with the normality with which life apparently continues in the city.
normal life
“What is normal life? & rdquor ;, Klitschko asked himself when he was told that the population seemed to maintain their day-to-day life outside of the war situation, which began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February.
While he was speaking, a food delivery man stopped his bike to take a distant ‘selfie’ with the mayor. Everything more or less normal, although 100 meters away, on Lva Tolstoho street, normality is extinguished again by the image of a skyscraper destroyed by another missile, in an attack on October 10. The road that suffered the attack still has a plaque with the name of Tolstoy, although the population and the authorities decided a long time ago to end the names of streets and squares associated with Russia.
The Sarajevo example
Colau’s trip is lightning, because in fact what he is after is a gesture, that of making visible the support for the capital of Ukraine, with which, the mayoress has announced, it will strengthen ties in the future. Ties that already exist: Klitschko visited Barcelona twice in recent months and kyiv will be the guest city at the Mercè in 2023.
Now, the mayoress has explained, that support will be reinforced. As an example, she recalled the link that Barcelona had with Sarajevo during the Balkan War: “Historically, Barcelona has had a tradition of solidarity and commitment, as in the case of the city of Sarajevo. A long tradition of welcome and solidarity. We are talking about an invasion by the Russian Army, not a war. It is produced in Europe and challenges us directly& rdquor ;.
Refugees in Barcelona
“We will never forget how a few months ago thousands of people arrived by train at Sants station and we welcomed them with open arms”, he added about the Ukrainian refugees who left the country as a result of the invasion, Colau added. Barcelona has served 17,000 Ukrainians since the Russian invasion began (some were only passing through the Catalan capital) and he has registered at 2,600, of which half are women and a third are minors.
“I am very happy, welcome. I would be much happier to show the city in better days. We are grateful for Barcelona’s support in this critical period. This is not a war, it is terrorism, genocide. Russia wants to destroy our normal life, all of us. We want to be part of the European family, not the Russian empire,” Klitschko said.
material support
Colau has visited the city together with the Barcelona Fire Chief, Sebastià Massagué, the council is preparing to cover some of kyiv’s basic needs: Barcelona will immediately send electric generators to the Ukrainian capital with the capacity to service buildings, which are especially necessary in these times of low temperatures.
The same shipment will include hydraulic equipment to rescue people, 300 biological protection suits, 100 chemical protection suits, and 15,000 masks. In a second shipment, two vehicles will be sent to kyiv, a crane with the capacity to lift parts of up to 40 tons and a new fire truck. The Catalan capital has already sent a pumper truck and a self-propelled vehicle ceded by the Port of Barcelona to the Ukrainian capital.
night control
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The mayoress’s trip was organized in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in fact a first attempt had to be delayed. Colau flew from Barcelona to Krakow on Thursday, via Munich. She then drove to Przemyël, Poland, to follow the safest route to Ukraine: an overnight train from the Polish town to kyiv.
The rail journey lasted about 11 hours, including one with the train stopped by a Ukrainian Army checkpoint. People traveled in it, and in some cases returned to kyiv convinced that the worst is over. Colau will start the reverse path to Barcelona this Friday night.