JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In a video address to the United States Conference of Mayors on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky specifically admonished the city of Jacksonville, as well as other U.S. cities, for maintaining official diplomatic ties to cities in Russia.
“You know that dozens of American cities maintain the so-called ‘brotherhood’ with the cities of the Russian Federation: Chicago and Moscow, Jacksonville and Murmansk, San Diego and Vladivostok, Albany and Tula,” Zelensky said. “What do these connections give you? Perhaps nothing. But they give Russia the opportunity to say, even after the beginning of such a war that it is not isolated.”
The address was delivered on the 100th day since the invasion of Ukraine began, which Russian President Vladimir Putin described as a “special military operation.” While a comprehensive death toll is not known, reports indicate that tens of thousands have been killed since the Russian invasion began.
Murmansk is a city of approximately 300,000 people, located in Russia’s northwest corner. It’s the largest city in the world that is above the Arctic Circle.
On July 14, 1975, Jacksonville and Murmansk officially became sister cities, facilitated by the Jacksonville Sister Cities Association.
The JSCA’s president told News4JAX Thursday that the city’s relationship with Murmansk has been dormant for the last five years, meaning there’s been no contact between the two municipalities in that time.
JSCA’s parent organization, Sister Cities International released a memo discouraging U.S. members from suspending or severing partnerships with Russian cities.
“As citizen diplomats, we must be alert to counsel and remind our elected officials as well as our local municipal leaders of the critical role that Sister Cities International and each local sister city relationship offers, especially in times of conflict,” the memo said. “We applaud those sister cities programs and citizens around the globe, including in Russia, who have voiced their support of an independent Ukraine and reaffirmed their belief in peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation.”
The association’s stated mission is to “promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, & cooperation – one individual, one community at a time.”
Jacksonville currently has 8 sister cities:
- Bahia Blanca, Argentina
- Curitiba, Brazil
- Changwon City, South Korea
- Murmansk, Russia
- Nantes, France
- Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, South Africa
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Yingkou, China
JSCA is an affiliate of Sister Cities International. Though some municipalities have their own rules for the process, a location is typically recognized as a ‘sister city’ when the highest elected officials from the two communities sign an agreement to form the relationship.
SCI is scheduled to host its southeast conference in Jacksonville July 19-22, and JSCA’s president told News4JAX the Murmansk delegation was not invited.