Tour of Ashland’s Ukrainian Sister City and message from Mayor of Sviatohirs’k

by Elizabeth V. Hallett

Editor’s Note:

Here we present video tour of Ashland’s sister city in Ukraine, Svyatohirs’k, in  the Donbas Oblast, or “region.” It was shown at the recent fundraiser at the Ashland High School Theater and gives a sense of their situation, beginning with an aerial view and message from the city’s mayor, Volodimir Ribalkin who is a volunteer. Ashland’s Mayor, Tonya Graham has been in touch with him by Zoom, although the City of Ashland assumes no financial responsibility for the ASAP project. 

There are roughly 400 people in the town now, compared to 5,000 before the Russian invasion which the city successfully repelled. The ASAP fundraiser netted over $13,000 to be applied to the cost of a wood chipper that will help with fuel for citizens to stay warm during the winter. Funds are designated for Svyatohirs’k and sent through Ukraine Aid International to ensure that the contributions to this project are carefully allocated for the ASAP project. 

As reported last week in Clear Actions, Ben Stott has been assisting with food and water deliveries in outlying towns in the eastern part of Ukraine, and was able to provide acupuncture support for several people in Kharkiv as a pilot project to introduce pain management methods he has been trained in. 

The ASAP Board met last weekend to plan another fundraiser that is set to happen on December 9th at the Historic Ashland Armory.