With temperatures dropping and a difficult winter impending, Odesa, Ukraine faces a dire need for cold-weather protective clothing and gear. On November 4th, Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov put out a request for warm winter clothing and warmers to support citizens working on outdoor building and road reconstruction activities, as well as any other Ukrainians from nearby regions that may seek refuge in Odesa over the coming winter months.
In response, Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka announced that Yokohama City would be purchasing cold-weather protective gear from local Yokohama-based companies and delivering them to Odesa, as the city had done previously when donating 33 water purification units earlier this year. The protective supplies will be delivered through a contracted transport company. During the organizational and procurement process, the sourced jackets and cold-weather gear will be embroidered with the phrase “Yokohama stands with Ukraine” and are estimated to be delivered in mid-December 2022.
Protective cold-weather gear to be delivered:
- Winter Clothing (Tops and Bottoms) – 1,900 sets (From local Yokohama companies)
- Winter Clothing (Tops) – 80 (From Yokohama Fire Department)
- Single-use Insole warmers – 10,000
Examples of winter clothing to be delivered to Odesa, Ukraine
Yokohama’s Relationship with Odesa:
Odesa contacted Yokohama City about entering a sister-city relationship in 1964, and based on the shared experiences of rebuilding after wartime damages and positions as international port cities, Yokohama and Odesa formalized that new sister city relationship on July 1, 1965, and have engaged in numerous exchanges since to deepen that connection. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, Yokohama has sought to maintain a close connection to Odesa to understand the city’s current situation and needs as the situation develops. Responding to an emergency request from Odesa for assistance in shoring up their backup water supply equipment, Yokohama delivered 33 water purification units (including a donation of 11 units from JFE Engineering) to Odesa in July, and 5 of those units were subsequently relocated to the nearby city of Mykolaiv when Russian attacks damaged the city’s drinking water supply system. The remainder of the units are being used in tests and operational drills to prepare for their rapid deployment in the case of an emergency in Odesa.
