Given the gravity of the situation generated by the Russian Government’s invasion of Ukraine, including the attack on cities and their institutional headquarters, the Atlantic Cities Bureau meeting held on 28 February agreed to express our strong condemnation of this aggression against the people of Ukraine. This condemnation has been sent to various institutions and the media. As we know that this sensibility is shared by all our cities, we hope that you will also share the same sensibility, spreading it, also, in your communication channels.
Viana do Castelo has also asked us to send you the following text concerning the grave humanitarian situation resulting from this invasion and the possibilities for action by our cities:
“We take this opportunity to share with the members of Atlantic Cities that there are several measures and solidarity actions that we have initiated. We take this chance to say that we have assumed the management and aggregation of the humanitarian aid that has developed in the last days in Viana do Castelo, grouping the collected goods and providing their transport to the Polish-Ukrainian border. We are in contact with the Ukrainian Consulate in Porto and have already informed them of our capacity to receive refugees from Ukraine in our city. About 27 000 Ukrainian citizens live in Portugal, and this is a community well received in our country.“
