Mayor of Ukranian town twinned with St Helier visits Jersey for the first time

  • Oleksandr Senkevich spoke to ITV Channel about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and his city's ties with St Helier.

The mayor of the Ukrainian city twinned with St Helier, Mykolaiv, has visited the island for the first time.

Oleksandr Senkevich has been touring Jersey's capital with Constable Simon Crowcroft.

It comes after residents voted to approve the twinning and establish economic and social links between the two towns.

Mr Senkevich said: "We already got help from St Helier with diesel generators, while these awful blackouts happen in the wintertime. And also some medical equipment for our children's hospital."

During his visit, he has seen some of Jersey's harbour, visited rubbish and recycling companies, taken a look at some bunkers and war memorials - and even ventured into the States Assembly.

"It's very like in the movies," says Mr Senkevich. "Because our democracy is kind of young compared to our democracy. But you still [have] traditions - we saw the processes, it was interesting."

The population of Mykolaiv has dropped from around 500,000 to 350,000 as Ukrainian residents fled from the conflict. Credit: Bing Maps

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