London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 19, 2025

Friend or foe? The UK cities cutting ties with Russian twins

Friend or foe? The UK cities cutting ties with Russian twins

At least nine UK councils have severed arrangements with Russian cities in protest at war in Ukraine
Coventry, which has voted to suspend its 80-year connection with Volgograd, joins at least eight other UK councils in severing twinning arrangements with Russian cities in protest at Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

But Canterbury remains twinned with Vladimir, 120 miles east of Moscow. A spokesperson for Canterbury city council stressed that the arrangement had nothing to do with the council and was the sole responsibility of the Canterbury Three Cities Association.

The association – which also links the city with Bloomington and Bloomington-Normal, Illinois – issued a statement condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine. But it added: “We believe that to sever links with Vladimir now would be a pointless gesture, of no help whatever to the beleaguered people of Ukraine.”

For 36 years Glasgow had been twinned with the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, 80 miles east of the Ukrainian border. But hours after the invasion the arrangement was suspended by the council leader, Susan Aitken. She said: “While this is a small thing in the circumstances, Glasgow must join the world in unequivocally condemning the acts of war unleashed on Ukraine by Russia.”

A day after the invasion, Cheltenham suspended its twinning activities with the Black Sea resort of Sochi. A day later Manchester suspended its “friendship arrangement” with St Petersburg that had gone back to 1962.

County Durham ended 54 years of links with Kostroma, 250 miles north-east of Moscow, in early March. After a week of pressure, on 4 March Oxford city council suspended its twinning with the Russian city of Perm, near the Urals.

Exeter city council voted unanimously to suspend civic links with Yaroslavl, 160 miles north-east of Moscow, on 11 March. And there was similarly unanimous vote in Perth and Kinross council to end Perth being twinned with the north-western Russian city of Pskov.

Last week Plymouth said it planned to end its twinning arrangement with the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk after residents of the city’s Novorossiysk Road replaced its sign with one reading “Volodymyr Zelensky Road” in tribute to the Ukrainian president.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
×