Hopkins expected to pass resolution supporting its Ukrainian sister city

Just over a decade ago, Hopkins got a sister.

The Twin Cities suburb established a sister-city relationship with Boryspil, a Ukrainian city of about 65,000 just outside Kyiv that's home to the nation's largest airport.

Now, with Ukraine under attack by invading Russian forces, the Hopkins City Council is expected to pass a resolution in support of Boryspil at its regular meeting Tuesday.

"We are very concerned with the safety of the people of our sister city," Hopkins Mayor Patrick Hanlon said. "We've broken bread with them here in Hopkins."

Indeed, the relationship between the two cities has been unusually rich — much more than a symbolic gesture. Hopkins residents and officials have made multiple trips to Ukraine over the past decade. In turn, the city has hosted several delegations of business and civic leaders from Boryspil (pronounced BORIS-ful).

In addition, dozens of Ukrainian youths have spent time as exchange students in Hopkins schools, with some of them studying in Osseo as well.

Local residents who have met and interacted with the Ukrainian visitors praise their education, warmth and eagerness to learn about democratic processes after centuries under autocratic rule.

"I thought they were great people," said James Warden, whose family hosted a Boryspil official for a week and also served as mentors to a Ukrainian student. "Really kind, gracious, smart. And really interested in learning everything they could. They really had a thirst for knowledge and making connections.

"It was really moving to meet them. You watch everything now and it's devastating."

The relationship was spurred by Irina Fursman, a Ukrainian-born Twin Cities businesswoman who had done work for Hopkins and suggested the sister-city idea.

"The intent was to share best practices in terms of how we work with our communities, ensuring that decisions are made transparently — including the voices of the citizens, which was a foreign concept to the former Soviet satellites," Fursman said. "We engaged in problem-solving on public issues."

With the students, Fursman said, there was an emphasis on teaching critical-thinking skills at a time when Russia was targeting Ukrainian youth with propaganda surrounding its 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea.

For some of the visiting students, the experience was life-changing. Alina Kosiak of Boryspil spent a month in Hopkins in 2014, when she was 15.

"That month, it was incredible," said Kosiak, now 22. "After that I decided to study in the United States, and I moved here." She lives in Miami and just graduated from Florida International University with a degree in international business and administration.

Kosiak said she fell in love with the food, the architecture and the people of the United States: "I like that all the people are smiling all the time."

Mike Mornson, Hopkins' city manager, said the idea for a supporting resolution came in an e-mail from a community member. Two of the five City Council members immediately expressed support, he said. He expects the resolution to pass.

"We want to be on the side of our sister city," he said.

Mark Ritchie met with the first Ukrainian delegation to visit Hopkins when he was Minnesota's secretary of state. The group toured a number of area businesses and government agencies, including Cargill and SuperValu.

"I met people who are really excited about relationship-building with people from the other side of the planet. That evening, there was no cloud or worry," said Ritchie, now president of Global Minnesota, an organization that works to advance international understanding and engagement. "Nothing would have made us worry about what is happening right now. It was, perhaps, a more hopeful time."

Gene Maxwell, mayor of Hopkins from 2000 to 2016, was among the first from the city to visit Ukraine in 2011 and made another trip several years later. Like others, he was impressed with the Ukrainians he met. He came away realizing how much we have in common.

"Basically, everyone wants a good, quality life," Maxwell said. "People really aren't that much different anyplace. It's just the leaders that make it difficult."