On the occasion of the International Summit of Cities and Regions, organized in Kyiv by President Zelensky, the Île-de-France Region and Chernihiv Oblast signed a cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening the ties already established between the two territories since the beginning of Russia’s aggression.
Structured around several shared priorities — infrastructure reconstruction, mobility, the green transition, the development of public services, and support for Ukraine’s European integration — this partnership is already based on concrete achievements. These include the delivery of 140 buses from Île-de-France to Chernihiv Oblast, as well as the launch of the Kalyna programme, designed to train Ukrainian civil servants in the management of European funding.
Beyond the projects carried out at regional level, this agreement creates a favourable framework for the development of cooperation between local authorities in Île-de-France and Ukraine, notably between Santeny and Kruty, the City of Chaville and Koriukivka, Saint-Denis and Chernihiv, the City of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Nizhyn, as well as Sarcelles and Ichnia.
As Chernihiv Oblast has been severely affected since 2022, this agreement illustrates the essential role of decentralized cooperation in Ukraine’s reconstruction. It also promotes mutual exchanges of expertise, with Ukrainian territories now serving as a valuable source of knowledge in the fields of innovation, adaptation and resilience.
The agreement was signed by Grégoire de Lasteyrie, Vice-President of the Île-de-France Region in charge of Transport, and Cédric Guillon-Lavocat, Deputy Director General in charge of European and International Strategies for the Île-de-France Region.
