The first exchanges between the city of Palaiseau and that of Boyarka took place in December 2023, and the friendship between the two cities has continued to grow ever since. To nurture these ties, Grégoire de Lasteyrie, mayor of Palaiseau, traveled to Kyiv for the International Summit of Cities and Regions on June 6, 2025. He also represented the Île-de-France region in his capacity as vice-president and participated in the signing of an agreement between the Kyiv and Chernihiv oblasts regarding the training of local officials in European programs.
Located near the Ukrainian capital, Boyarka is, like Palaiseau, a dynamic and attractive city strongly committed to environmental issues.
Grégoire de Lasteyrie’s first visit to Boyarka on Saturday, June 7, meeting the residents of the city as well as their mayor Oleksandr Zarubin and his team, including Tetiana Kochkova and Helen Kovtun, further strengthened the twinning agreement, which was signed and officially established on December 7, 2024, in Palaiseau.
During the visit to Boyarka, Grégoire de Lasteyrie sought to get as close as possible to the reality of a city located only 300 meters from where Ukrainian defense forces repelled Russian troops in 2022. Seeing the bridge that was blown up by Ukrainian defenders to slow the advance of Russian troops was a powerful symbol of local resistance. Several schools equipped with air raid shelters were also visited, illustrating the daily constraints and dangers faced by children. Exchanges with bereaved families, engaged young people, and mobilized elected officials helped to grasp the magnitude of the hardships endured by the population as well as the strength of their courage.
Beyond political and symbolic commitment, this partnership is rooted in a genuine story of friendship and cooperation through cultural, educational, and social projects. In summer 2024, about twenty Ukrainian children benefited from a respite stay in Palaiseau, a deeply meaningful and committed initiative to offer a moment of comfort to the youngest in the face of the war’s hardships.
This twinning illustrates the determination of French local authorities to provide concrete support to Ukrainian territories severely affected by the conflict, as well as the strength of the human ties that unite our peoples.
Thus, Palaiseau and Boyarka continue together on their path toward peace and reconstruction, embodying true European solidarity.
