The URC brings together leading representatives of governments, international organizations, business and civil society. The conference is a continuation of the annual series of high-level political events dedicated to the rapid recovery and long-term reconstruction of Ukraine since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. In the spirit of the Ukrainian reform conferences that have taken place until 2022, the URC will also present Ukraine's reform progress in the context of economic resilience and the EU accession process.

Bonn's Lord Mayor will hold a personal meeting with Vitalii Bielobrov, Mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, as part of the conference. Since February 2023, the Federal City of Bonn has been supporting Kherson with financial and material donations as part of a solidarity partnership. "The willingness to help was and is very great. It was very important to provide emergency aid as quickly as possible. And cities are particularly good at that!” emphasizes the Mayor of Bonn.

Katja Dörner will present the solidarity partnership with Kherson during a panel discussion on the topic of “Using international municipal partnerships for recovery and EU rapprochement”. Over the past one and a half years, more than 250,000 euros in donations have been collected in cooperation with the aid organization Help - Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe. Among other things, emergency aid packages and medical equipment for a children's hospital have been procured. An ambulance and other vehicles as well as donations in kind were transported to Kherson.

"We are working very closely with civil society and Ukrainian organizations in Bonn throughout the entire process. At the same time, I am very impressed that despite the dramatic situation in Kherson, which is exposed to Russian attacks on a daily basis, there is a close exchange and this partnership is also strongly supported by the Ukrainian side,” said the Mayor of Bonn. "The interest in the experience we have as an EU member is particularly great, and I have the impression that the people of Ukraine would like nothing more than to become a member of the EU as soon as possible. The conditions for this must also be created at local level, and the German municipalities can contribute to this."

At the conference, the Mayor of Bonn will call for even more support, for example in the social sector, in view of the enormous challenges facing the municipalities in Ukraine during reconstruction.“German municipalities can also provide help here,” Katja Dörner is certain.