Liberal Democrats call for Lviv Sisterhood

York Liberal Democrat Councillors are calling for a renewal of efforts to adopt Lviv as a York’s sister city following recent developments in the war in Ukraine.

Liberal Democrats proposed a motion in 2022 which asked the Council to reaffirm its commitment to stand with Ukraine, welcome those fleeing the war to our city and support Ukrainians and those affected directly by the war.

The motion, which was backed unanimously by all Councillors, approved the principle of adopting the war-torn city as its sibling.

Since the motion passed, Labour took over the Council and, disappointingly, little progress has been made in signing the planned “Declaration of Understanding” and completing the sisterhood of the two cities.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Chris Cullwick said:

“The situation in Ukraine is on a knife edge, the western alliance backing Ukraine against Russian aggression is looking more and more fragile every day

“Now is the time for everyone in the UK to unite behind Ukraine and show our support. Our partners in Lviv are very grateful for the support York has shown them thus far. We call on the Council to complete the sisterhood process.”

Councillor Darryl Smalley said:

“It is deeply troubling that we are seeing President Trump parroting Putin’s propaganda and prioritising America’s enemies over its friends. 

“Whilst the government have already made positive steps to increase our defence spending following calls from the Lib Dems in Parliament, Keir Starmer needs to do more and seize tens of billions of pounds worth of Russian assets in our country and use them to support Ukraine.”