On November 19 in Paris, Melanie Lepoultier (ILDG), Head of the French delegation to the Congress, presented the Congress' activities in Ukraine at the Franco-Ukrainian Conference of local authorities, organised on the occasion of the Congress of French Mayors and Presidents of intermunicipal co-operation bodies.

In the presence of some 40 Ukrainian mayors, she recalled that the Congress has been actively supporting Ukraine's decentralization efforts since 2011. Since 2014, and particularly since Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, the Congress has regularly denounced the annexation of Crimea and defended the country's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. It has also denounced violations of international law and human and humanitarian rights, as well as the kidnapping and detention of local elected officials and territorial agents in Ukraine.

Despite the ongoing war of aggression, the Congress is carrying out field activities in the country to strengthen and consolidate local democracy and promote multilevel governance, open government, citizen participation and human rights. This work is carried out in close cooperation with national, regional and local authorities, as well as associations of cities and regions in Ukraine, she added.

The Congress is also mobilizing its networks of cities, regions and institutions to support the creation and coordination of partnerships, humanitarian aid, the exchange of know-how and technical cooperation between Ukrainian local authorities and their European counterparts.

Mélanie Lepoultier relayed the call of the Paris Conference to develop more partnerships with Ukrainian local authorities, inviting participants to consult and support the “Cities4Cities/United for Ukraine” platform created with the patronage of the Congress, as well as any other existing initiatives.

Lastly, she pointed out that the Council of Europe has set up a Register of Damage Caused by Russia to Ukraine, enabling the collection of evidence and claims for compensation for damage and losses suffered by the state and its citizens. “Local elected representatives in Ukraine and other European states can contribute to the dissemination of information on the Register and on the claims submission process”, she stressed, reaffirming that ‘the Council of Europe and the Congress will remain key strategic partners in the country's recovery and reconstruction process’.