„Our solidarity and sympathy are with the people of Ukraine“, stressed Mayor Dörner. „The Russian war of aggression cannot be justified by anything. It has brought death, devastation and suffering to Europe, and its negative consequences affect the entire world.“

Bonn is currently home to nearly 4,000 people from Ukraine who have fled the war. „These people who have found refuge here with us, we want to provide the best possible support. I am pleased that the Ukrainians are celebrating their Independence Day here in Bonn. The celebration is an important sign for democracy and freedom in Ukraine right now.“

Guests in the City Hall included Mikhailo Linetskiy, District Administrator of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Samoilenko, President of the Regional Assembly of the Kherson oblast, the Ukrainian singer Anzhelika Rudnytska (involved in refugee aid) and Pavlo Hrosul, Chairman of the German-Ukrainian alliance "Solidarity Bonn Ukraine" (SoliBU). The two representatives of the Kherson region are in Bonn and Cologne for talks at the invitation of the initiative from Kyiv, where the Kherson oblast government-in-exile is based. They will also take part in the events celebrating Ukrainian Independence Day on August 24 on Bonn’s Münsterplatz.

The Alliance Solidarity Bonn Ukraine is supporting the Kherson region, currently occupied by Russian troops, with donations and relief supplies.

Kherson is a seaport city and the capital of Kherson oblast (=administrative unit), one of 25 administrative units in the south of Ukraine, where about 290,000 people used to live. More than one million inhabitants were living in Kherson oblast (as of the beginning of 2021). Today, most of these people have fled their homes.