Jena and Brovary deepen partnership: focus on rehabilitation and civil crisis management

Last week, the city of Jena had the honor of welcoming a high-ranking delegation from Ukraine and further strengthening the close solidarity partnership with the city of Brovary. The visit focused on an intensive exchange on municipal cooperation in times of crisis, particularly in the areas of medical rehabilitation and fire departments.

The delegation, consisting of Ihor Sapozhko, the mayor of Brovary, and Vladyslav Baichas, the acting mayor of Boryspil, visited Jena as part of a trip to Germany, which also took them to Karlsruhe, Baden-Baden and Stuttgart. The overriding theme of the trip was the establishment of cooperation in the field of rehabilitation for war invalids.

During the talks in Jena, the hope was expressed of establishing direct cooperation between the cities of Brovarym, Boryspil and Jena in the field of highly specialized rehabilitation. Another key topic was cooperation in the field of fire protection. The fire department in Brovary gained invaluable experience under the extreme conditions of war, which is of great mutual interest for an exchange of expertise.

The urgency and dramatic reality faced by the Ukrainian partners became tragically clear: the guests had to cut short their visit prematurely yesterday, Sunday (28.09.2025). The night before, the Kyiv oblast and in particular the cities of Brovary and Boryspil were the target of massive drone and missile attacks, which caused considerable damage.

Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche, who had originally extended the invitation, was represented by Mayor Benjamin Koppe and Kathleen Lützkendorf, head of the social affairs department, due to a conflict of appointments that could not be postponed. They emphasized Jena's unbroken solidarity.

Alexis Taeger (City Councillor, FDP), Matthias Bettenhäuser (Head of the Mayor's Office), Valerii Shkuropat (International Relations Officer) and Iryna Martyniuk from the JenaUA e.V. association also took part in the intensive discussion. Their presence underlines the broad basis of the partnership, which is supported both at official level and by strong civil society involvement. Both sides reaffirmed their desire to actively fill the solidarity partnership with life and to learn from each other.

v.l.n.r.: Valerii Shkuropat (Referent für Internationale Beziehungen), Ihor Sapozhko (Bürgermeister von Brovary), Iryna Martyniuk (Verein JenaUA und Vorsitzende des Migrationsbeirates Jena), Vladyslav Baichas, (Bürgermeister von Boryspil), Kathleen Lützke