Tallinn has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ukrainian city Lviv establishing a framework for cooperation in civil protection, crisis preparedness and the development of community resilience.
This week, Lviv hosted an international meeting for European municipalities, which was attended on behalf of Tallinn by Deputy Mayor for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa).
The cooperation between the two cities focuses on developing practical, people-centered solutions to urban safety and civil protection challenges.
The aim is to bring together experts, companies, start-ups, students and communities from both cities to develop innovative urban solutions and share experiences that other municipalities can easily adopt in the future.
“Cooperation with Lviv and other municipalities helps expand our knowledge, understand what solutions cities truly need, and create opportunities to test them in practice,” said Järvan.
“It also allows us to assess whether Tallinn would benefit from joining the Unbroken Cities network, which Lviv actively leads,” he added.
First Deputy Mayor of Lviv Andriy Moskalenko was pleased to begin cooperation with Tallinn particularly in the area of civil protection.
“It is very good that colleagues from Tallinn were able to come to Lviv for our study visit within the framework of Unbroken Cities Network, they were able to see with their own eyes what we are going through. Which gave us a horizon for joint work, a focus on the topic of city resilience and, of course, defense,” Moskalenko said.
One facet of the cooperation is an international 48-hour hackathon planned for 2026 by Tallinn’s Business Service.
The goal is to bring together cities, start-ups, experts and communities to develop practical ideas with international potential that can be quickly tested and further developed.
Ukraine’s experience has already been valuable for Tallinn.
Last November, several heads of Tallinn municipal agencies — including the Municipal Police — visited Kyiv and Zhytomyr to learn about local crisis management arrangements.
The study visit to Lviv provided an opportunity to continue this cooperation and deepen understanding of how to cope in difficult conditions and keep city services running.
In 2024, Lviv also signed a Sister City agreement with Tartu.
Lviv and Tartu have had a close working relationship for decades, with both sides repeatedly expressing their willingness to develop bilateral relations further.
“I’m very optimistic about our partnership,” Mayor Andriy Sadovyi told ERR News at the time. “I think every Ukrainian city and every Ukrainian community must have good collaborations with Estonian cities and Estonian communities.”
