“I thank Azerbaijan for its support to Ukraine and Irpin.”
Modern.az reports that this was stated by Anzhela Makeieva, Secretary of the Irpin City Council, acting city mayor, at the event titled “Lachin and Kalbajar: the path from urbicide to post-conflict reconstruction” within the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) held in Baku.
She stated that in the first days of Irpin's liberation from occupation, a terrible scene emerged in the city:
“During the war, residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, and hospitals were targeted. As a result of the fighting, 70 percent of Irpin's infrastructure was destroyed, and thousands of people were left homeless.”
She noted that a total of 3,860 objects were damaged or completely destroyed, which is equivalent to half of the city's housing stock.
“47 multi-apartment buildings were declared uninhabitable and had to be demolished, and more than 80 buildings needed major repairs. In addition, more than 1,800 private houses were destroyed or severely damaged. 10 schools and 12 kindergartens were completely or partially destroyed.”
The Irpin representative also emphasized that Irpin became a shield against the enemy to protect Kyiv and paid a heavy price for it:
“More than 20 international organizations supported the reconstruction of the city. Among them are United24, UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration, World Central Kitchen, the 'Right to Protection' charitable foundation, NEVCO, the 'Real Madrid Foundation', 'New Echo' and 'SoCal' foundations.”
The Irpin representative also noted that Azerbaijan holds special significance for the city:
“Zarifa Aliyeva's memory lives on in Irpin. A park and a school named after her operate there. That school is the only school in Ukraine where children learn the Azerbaijani language.”
She stated that with the support of the Azerbaijani government, the “Linguist” lyceum and the city polyclinic in Irpin have resumed their activities:
“We express our sincere gratitude to the Azerbaijani people for this support and are ready to further expand our cooperation,” A. Makeieva noted.
