by Elizabeth V. Hallett

The Ashland – Sviatohyrs’k Aid Project (ASAP) is under way, in an effort to help restore the Ukrainian town hit by Russian occupation between February  and September of 2022, before it was retaken by Ukrainian forces. Sviatohyrs’k is in the eastern part of Ukraine, in the Oblast Donbas region. 

Due to the war in Ukraine the population of 4,000 – 5,000 has shrunk to about 500 now, as those who are left work to rebuild what used to be a very popular tourist destination set in a once-beautiful world of forests and natural landscapes. It is southeast of Kharkiv and north of Mariopul. 

Ashland has stepped up to welcome 20 families of Ukrainians who have left because the war and created community support for them to thrive, despite the trauma and losses they have experienced. Now the sister city project raises our Ashland City of Peace to a new level, envisioning humanitarian support for a whole town decimated by the Russian invasion of 2022, from February to September of that year. 

The town has similarities to Ashland. Noted for the surrounding beauty, it has been called the “Switzerland of the Donbas Region” in the past. It has been visited by thousands each year to appreciate the architecture of the ancient Russian Orthodox Church and appreciate the rich agricultural lands and food. . 

In 2022, Peace House published dispatches in our weekly Clear Actions News from Ashlander and acupuncturist Ben Stott, as he volunteered delivering food and supplies to outlying areas near the eastern border of Ukraine, learning the extreme nature of hunger and devastation caused by the bombing and invasion of individual towns.

Stott, who spent about ten weeks as a volunteer, returned from Ukraine with the inspiration and a passion to engage Ashland in supporting the restoration of a Ukrainian town, in whatever way possible in order to magnify the outreach he knew could be effective. 

Sviatohrsy’k is an example of a city seriously damaged during the occupation, with a skeletal governing structure and community devastated by the war and in need of rebuilding. The remaining 500 residents of the city are now faced with rebuilding everything, including their system of governance, buildings, and infrastructure. 

Stott and Nagle began to structure a proposal for the sister city relationship with S’kiatohyrsk, gathering a Board of Ashland leaders and applying for nonprofit status to do fundraising. And so Ashland-Sviatohyrs’k Aid Project was born and has been approved by the Ashland City Council, after an initial Zoom call between Mayor Tonya Graham and Sviatohyrs’k Mayor, Volodomyr Rybalkin. The City Council unanimously approved the new connection in their meeting of June 20, 2023. S’Kiatohyrsk was chosen because of its size, environment and cultural similarities to Ashland.

The relationship, described in a proposal presented to the Ashland City Council acknowledges that the reconstruction support for Sviatohyrs’k will have less expectation of reciprocity than generally characterizes such international exchanges of friendship. This is due to the enormous need for resources and reconstruction financing that the town will need to heal and recover from the Russian occupation. 

The Peace House Board is unanimously supportive of the ASAP Project and Elizabeth V. Hallett sits on the Board of the newly formed organization. There will be a fundraiser on August 19th with music and speakers to magnify the need for support for our new sister city.