Council leader condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and offers sympathy to Barnsley’s twin town

Barnsley Council’s leader today condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and offered his sympathy to the resident’s of Barnsley’s Ukrainian town town, Gorlovka.

Barnsley has been officially twinned with mining town Gorlovka, which is also known by its Ukrainian name, Horlivka, in the Donetsk city region since 1987.

Barnsley’s twinship with the town dates back to the Cold War when, in May 1956, a delegation of miners from Yorkshire briefly stayed in the town during a study tour of the Soviet Union.

Similar visits took place in 1972 and in 1984, when the delegation included the late Ron Rigby, former Leader of Barnsley Council, and it was during this visit Barnsley Council agreed in principle to twin with Gorlovka.

One of Gorlovka’s most famous sons is the Cosmonaut Alexander Volkov and, in 1998, Comrade Volkov took Barnsley Chronicle character Sam Barn into space, as the then mascot for the Mir Space Station.

Russia’s military are reported to have breached Ukraine’s border in a number of areas, including from Belarus.

Sir Stephen Houghton CBE, leader of Barnsley Council, spoke during today’s full council meeting to condemn Russia’s actions.

“Today very sadly, the state of Russia under Vladimir Putin has launched a full scale invasion, not just of the Donbas, but of the Ukraine as a whole.

“My sympathy goes out to the people of Ukraine, and my sympathy goes out to the people of Gorlovka .

“It’s the innocent men, women and children who are not involved in armed forces or armed conflict, who will be the biggest victims of everything that is happening today.

“So I send, if it is the right words, my good wishes to those people, and hope they come through this incredibly difficult time.

“I condemn the actions of Russia, of Vladimir Putin, in doing what they are doing, and there’s no justification for that whatsoever.

“I trust the Western allies can find ways and means of freeing the people of Ukraine from this oppression, and that our friends and colleagues in Gorlovka can once again enjoy the freedom that they deserve, away from tyranny and terror.

“It is an incredibly difficult time, and anything that we think is difficult in this country pales into insignificance when you see what the people of Ukraine are now having to endure.”