‘Tears are choking me’: Ukrainian mayor visits State College as the two become sister cities

The voice of State College Mayor Ezra Nanes boomed as he acknowledged the communities of Nizhyn, Ukraine, and the borough were brought together by war — but, he added, Wednesday night’s ceremony wasn’t about war.

It was about kinship.

Before a crowd of just under 100, splashed with the national Ukrainian colors of blue and gold, Nanes and Nizhyn Mayor Oleksandr Kodola led a 90-minute ceremony that culminated in the signing of a document that officially made the two similarly-sized university towns sister cities. In the short term, that means the borough can more easily highlight residents’ fundraising efforts and voice its support. In the long term, both mayors hoped it would lead to cultural, economic and educational exchanges.

Nizhyn Mayor Oleksandr Kodola, sporting short dark hair and a navy-blue suit, steadied himself at times Wednesday as his bottom lip trembled. That reaction seemed to catch even him by surprise, as this was at least his third stop on a trip that included visits to Washington, D.C. and Denver, which hosted the Cities Summit of the Americas, an annual event promoting cooperation across the Western Hemisphere.

“I’ve been talking to your people for over a week,” Kodola said, through a translator, while looking over the crowd. “And this is the first time that the tears are choking me.”

He continued: “We are fighting for our freedom, for our homes, for our families. But we are also fighting for those values for the Western world and the American (world). These are the principles of democracy — for human rights, for safety, and for stable and sustainable development.”

Kodola’s visit alternated between emotional and informative. He spoke stoically about the day the Russians came, when they destroyed the airport — which held special emergency services — and killed five rescuers. He mentioned the 90 Nizhyn residents in armed forces who have already sacrificed their lives and the 10 Nizhyn civilians who were killed. He showed photos of the devastation, buildings reduced to rubble, and described how some residents lived for months in the nearby university’s bomb shelter.

But, like a doting father showing off his newborn, he also focused on his pride in Nizhyn — and how troops from the Russian Federation circled his city for a month and a half before they “got scared and retreated.” (He paused and smiled while reciting that line.) He showed photos of Nizhyn Gogol State University, founded 50 years before Penn State in 1805. He described sports heroes like world-champion boxer Petro Ivanov, industries that include a sunflower oil processing plant and celebrations like the Pokrovsky Festival.

He emphasized that he did not want this partnership to become one-sided. And he hoped, after the “Great Victory,” that would be more easily realized.

In many ways, Wednesday’s ceremony can be traced to the efforts of the Highlands Civic Association and to Svitlana Budzhak-Jones, a Ukrainian woman who’s lived in the borough more than 20 years. Budzhak-Jones started an organization last year, Sister’s Sister, to raise money for Nizhyn, and residents were only too happy to help.

They helped raise more than $18,000 — an amount, Kodola said, that helped rebuild a central boiler system. That provided about 5,000 residents in one district with warm water and heat during winter. (Those still interested can donate via Venmo through @SistersSister or via check to 357 E. Prospect Ave., State College, PA 16801. Checks should be made out to Sister’s Sister Inc.)

Budzhak-Jones asked Borough Council for help in December. By March, they passed a resolution to allow the borough to seek a sister city partnership. And, on Wednesday, Nanes and Kodola both signed memorandums of understanding — one in English and one in Ukrainian — to make the partnership official.

Toward the end of Wednesday’s ceremony, Kodola presented the borough with gifts. One included a glass-beaded banner of Nizhyn hero Oleksandr Matsievskyi, who made headlines the world over for his courage in the face of execution. In a graphic 12-second video, the captured Matsievskyi is shown smoking a cigarette and says “Slava Ukraini!” — Glory to Ukraine! — before being shot by automatic weapons.

“We’ll hang this in a place of honor,” Nanes told Kodola.

Kodola stayed behind at least 20 minutes following a standing ovation and the ceremony’s end, shaking hands and speaking with residents. Without the aid of a microphone, he shouted “Slava Ukraini!” and then, in English, “God Bless America!”