Sonoma City Council members from left, Ron Wellander, Vice Mayor Patricia Farrer-Rivas, Sandra Lowe, Mayor John Gurney, and Jack Ding. Photo taken at the City Council meeting in the Council Chambers on First Street West on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune)
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Sonoma urged to reach out to Ukraine sister city
Group seeks letter for Kaniv, hit July 8 by Russian missiles
By Vince Basada Index-Tribune staff writer

The Sonoma Sister Cities Association has urged the City Council to send a letter of sympathy and support to its sister city Kaniv, Ukraine, following a fatal Russian missile strike, SSCA President Stephanie Fine said.

Ukrainian officials say that the missile attack, which Russia launched July 8, killed 41 people as of Tuesday and damaged a children’s hospital, according to Reuters.

As of July 9, the association did not have any updates from the City Council as to whether they would move forward with the letter of support.

“I am heartened every day by the strength and courage of the people of Ukraine,” Fine said of the situation.

“I get photos almost on a daily basis from our friends in Ukraine. It’s hard to imagine that these people are going into bomb shelters multiple times a day.”

Fine is in regular communication with her Ukrainian counterpart, Anatoly Leontyev, the president of the Kaniv Friendship Association and Kyiv University professor who has visited Sonoma three times since the start of the war.

In a communication shared by Bailie, Leontyev wrote, “Many people died (during the attack), including children. There were many explosions in the air when they tried to destroy the rockets that were headed for Kyiv.”

Kaniv, a town of more than 20,000 people before the war, is located some 90 miles away from the capital of Kyiv. It has been one of Sonoma’s seven sister cities since 1987.

The Sonoma Sister Cities Association, which recently sent a retired ambulance filled with medical supplies to Kaniv, has raised more than $150,000 for Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2022, according to Kaeti Bailie, SSCA Kaniv Committee chair.

Currently, SSCA is working on getting a grant to purchase a large generator as backup for the critical hydroelectric plant, which powers much of its infrastructure. The dam was hit by Russian fire once in the past, and Kaniv officials worry it may be damaged again, Bailie wrote.

Fine also said that SSCA is working with the Santa Rosa Rotary Club to get independent generators for citizen warming stations to be used in the winter.

For those interested in learning more about the Sonoma Sister Cities Association and aiding in efforts to help Kaniv, visit sscasonoma.org.

You can reach Vince Basada atvince.basada@sonomanews.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) @VinceBasada