The United States decision to pause military aid to Ukraine is already affecting towns supported by Sister City partnerships with Easton and other Fairfield County communities.
“With funding cuts to Ukraine, 50% of organizations operating in and around Sviatohirsk have ceased operations,” said Marshall Mayer, co-founder and executive director of Ukraine Aid Intrnational, a Westport-based nonprofit humanitarian organization that formed a Sister City bond between Easton and Ukrainians in Sviatohirsk.
The nonprofit additionally has Sister City partnerships with Stamford, Greenwich, Westport, Fairfield, Ridgefield and Weston. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sister Cities have been raising funds for volunteers to deliver aid to Ukrainian civilians.
Aside from the halted military aid there also has been a decrease in humanitarian assistance reaching the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine where many of the Sister City programs are located.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration froze all United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts worldwide, including those in Ukraine. USAID has provided Ukraine with billions in humanitarian aid and development assistance since the war began.
“While UAI is not directly impacted by the loss of USAID funding, we anticipate a sharp increase in demand for assistance in frontline areas, including Easton’s sister city,” said Mayer.
In January, UAI reported that Westport’s Sister City, Lyman, was under relentless shelling, leaving its 800 residents without water or heat.
Easton First Selectman David Bindelglass, who has traveled to Ukraine, said, “I know from my conversations with the aid organizations that they have lost a significant amount of humanitarian support. The work goes on with new urgency. I’m not concerned about politics. It’s about friends.”
Right now, Sviatohirsk has an immediate need for large generators to support its communications network and water carriers to deliver clean water to remote villages.
Each generator and water carrier costs between $15,000 and $20,000. Donations of any size are being sought to meet those needs. Easton has raised nearly $100,000 in support for Sviatohirsk — providing critical aid and support —including two municipal multi-purpose dump trucks to support local recovery projects, a water filtration system serving over 6,000 residents, a heating pellet production line that has kept the region warm for two winters, and generators along with other essential supplies.
“Beyond the material aid, the moral support from our community has been invaluable,” said Mayer.
Allyson Hupka, the Director of Operations at UAI, said the Sister City programs need help now more than ever.
“We hope that this challenging situation will inspire a fresh group of civically and humanitarian-minded individuals to join steering committees and help to reinvigorate this important relationship moving forward,” said Hupka, who is also involved with Weston’s Sister City partnership with Siversk, Ukraine.
For those interested in joining a steering committee, email Hupka at allyson@ukraineaidinternational.org
Additionally, for those interested in seeing Ukraine firsthand, UAI is organizing a donor mission trip to Ukraine from Aug. 17 to 14.
“Supporters will have the chance to meet first responders, frontline heroes and victims of Russia’s war of aggression, all from the relative safety of Lviv — with an optional visit to Kyiv,” said Mayer.
To learn more about UAI and to make a donation visit UAI’s website.
