On January 12, Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyinis held a meeting with the mayors of the founding cities of the international initiative "Pact of Free Cities". The mayors of Bratislava, Matúš Vallo, Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, Prague, Zdeněk Hřib and Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski attended the meeting.

Yevhen Perebyinis expressed his gratitude for the support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens who found temporary shelter in these European capitals, as well as for the provision of significant humanitarian aid to Ukrainian partner cities, in particular energy equipment.

The parties discussed the current security situation and Ukraine's needs in connection with Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, as well as further cooperation and practical assistance that the capitals of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia can provide to Ukraine.

For their part, the mayors of Bratislava, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw confirmed that the Pact of Free Cities and each of its member cities will continue to fully support Ukraine in the fight against the aggressor.

Background: The Pact of Free Cities is an open alliance launched in 2019 by mayors of Bratislava, Budapest, Prague and Warsaw. European cities cooperate in such areas as protection of the democracy and local self-government, fight against corruption and populism, as well as in building of effective interaction with national governments. In the fall of 2022, Kyiv joined the Pact of Free Cities.