Mayor of besieged Mariupol thanks Georgian partners, Gov’t for support of Ukraine

Vadym Boichenko, the Mayor of Ukraine’s besieged city of Mariupol, on Wednesday extended his gratitude to Georgian partners and the Government for their support of the country following the Russian invasion.

I thank our partners in Georgia who have supported our nation since the first day of the war. I thank your [Georgian] Government for treating the Ukrainian people and the people of Mariupol in such a brotherly manner,” Boichenko said in an interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster. 

He noted Georgia could host “assistance centres” for residents of Mariupol, following several rounds of evacuations from the Black Sea port city besieged by Russian troops.

We have created centres [in Ukraine] where the residents of Mariupol are assisted in medical, humanitarian, and psychological terms. These are the centres that not only help these people, but also give them hope that we will return home. We can reconsider an opportunity to open such a centre in Georgia, so that the residents of Mariupol feel supported in Georgia as well,” the Mayor said in the interview.