York should complete the process of adopting a Ukrainian city as its sibling as the situation in the country rests on a knife-edge, opposition councillors have said.
Liberal Democrats Cllr Darryl Smalley and Cllr Chris Cullwick said the sisterhood process with Lviv should be completed almost three years after councillors agreed to the proposal.
Conservative group leader Cllr Chris Steward said the failure to follow through on the 2022 motion calling for the move was embarrassing though he questioned the benefits of the move.
City of York Council Labour leader Cllr Claire Douglas said she was set to discuss the Lviv relationship with a Ukrainian official as support continues for those affected by Russia’s invasion.
It comes after York councillors approved proposals for a Moratorium of Understanding with Lviv, in the west of Ukraine, in April 2022 around two months after the outbreak of war.
Cllr Smalley, who tabled the motion, said at the time he hoped it would serve as a small act of solidarity amid dark times for the country.
Since then, 416 Ukrainians have arrived in York through Homes for Ukraine out of 461 visas issued to those who applied under the scheme to settle in the city.
But the process to make Lviv York’s sister city remains incomplete, with the Liberal Democrats claiming it has been delayed by a lack of funds which Labour’s Cllr Douglas denied.
The relationship would commit York and Lviv to long-term cultural, educational, business and technical exchange, according to the Sister Cities International organisation.
Liberal Democrat Cllr Smalley said the sisterhood route had been chosen at the time because it was deemed to be faster and cheaper than formal twinning.
He added the lack of progress came at a deeply troubling time for Ukraine as talks between the US and Russia to end the three-year-long conflict continue.
The Rawcliffe and Clifton Without ward councillor said: “We understood at the time that an official twinning process would be lengthy and expensive which is why we proposed a much quicker Memorandum of Understanding.
“We urge Labour to rethink this and take forward the sisterhood process.”
Cllr Cullwick, who served as York’s lord mayor when sisterhood was approved, said the city needed to show its support for Ukraine as Western backing grows increasingly fragile.
The Huntington and New Earswick ward councillor said: “The situation in Ukraine is on a knife-edge, now is the time for everyone in the UK to unite behind Ukraine and show our support.
“Our partners in Lviv are very grateful for the support York has shown them thus far.”
Conservative group leader Cllr Steward said the UK needed to and was supporting Ukraine with financial and military assistance.
He added the motion approved in 2022 was another case of York councillors grandstanding on national issues.
Coun Steward said: “This is another embarrassing failure of the council to enact a motion councillors have passed.
“I struggle to see the benefit to Ukraine in its current situation of one of its cities having this relationship with York, what Ukraine needs in this awful time is for the UK to stand 100 per cent behind it.”
Coun Douglas said opposition councillors had disappointingly jumped to inaccurate conclusions about work on the process.
She added the council’s work to support Ukrainians had recently been recognised by the country’s embassy during a recent visit.
The Labour leader said: “The council and our residents have continued to support the Ukrainian community both in York and in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
“York is now home to a number of Ukrainian families who have been welcomed into our communities at their time of need.
“Next week, I am looking forward to meeting with a senior representative from the Embassy of Ukraine to discuss the relationship between Lviv and York and see how our cities can work alongside each other in support.”
The war in Ukraine has seen 6.9m people flee the country as refugees while 3.7m were internally displaced as of February, according to UN statistics.
Official casuality statistics are not published but the estimates of the number of those killed and wounded are as high as 1m.
UN figures put the number of civilians dead at almost 12,500 as of February.
The UK government pledged to continue supporting Ukraine in a joint declaration with France, Italy, Poland, Spain and the EU on Monday, March 31.