Chicago suspends Moscow’s Sister City status over Russian invasion of Ukraine

After nearly three dozen aldermen called for Chicago’s Sister Cities relationship with Moscow to be suspended while the Russian war on Ukraine is ongoing, Mayor Lori Lightfoot directed World Business Chicago to do just that.

“While this is not a decision I enter into lightly, we must send an unambiguous message: we strongly condemn all actions by the Putin regime. This suspension will be upheld until the end of hostilities against Ukraine and the Putin regime is held accountable for its crimes,” Lightfoot said. “We must continue to support freedom-loving people everywhere and ordinary Russians in their desire to be free.”

The move is largely symbolic but highlights the ongoing condemnation toward Russia throughout the world after Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, 33 Chicago City Council members signed onto a proposed order suspending Moscow’s Sister City status.

Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv is among Chicago’s 27 remaining Sister Cities, whose roster also includes Bogotá, Colombia; Accra, Ghana; Osaka, Japan; and Warsaw, Poland. Chicago formalized its Sisters Cities program under former Mayor Richard M. Daley in 1990, the proposed order states.

The document calls for the immediate return of gifts, materials or services provided by a revoked participant and states that it won’t be considered for readmittance “until normal diplomatic relations are reinstated.”