First Official Visit of the Consul General of Ukraine to Kraków City Hall
On Monday, 27 July 2026, the newly appointed Consul General of Ukraine in Kraków, Oresta Starak, paid her first official visit to Kraków City Hall. She was received by Stanisław Kracik, Acting Mayor of Kraków.
The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss Kraków’s long-standing cooperation with Ukrainian local government partners and opportunities for further developing these relations – both at the institutional and local-government level, as well as in the social sphere. The talks also focused on the current challenges facing cities and prospects for implementing joint initiatives.
For many years, Kraków has maintained close relations with Ukrainian local governments. The city has formal partnerships with two Ukrainian cities – Lviv, with which a cooperation agreement was signed on 23 October 1995, and Kyiv, which has been Kraków’s twin city under agreements concluded in 1976 and 1993. Thematic projects, including study visits, cultural projects and exchanges, are also carried out with a number of other Ukrainian cities, including Drohobych (Kraków Waterworks has for many years maintained broad-based partnership and humanitarian cooperation with the Ukrainian water utility Drohobychvodokanal in Drohobych; the Kraków company supports its Ukrainian counterparts with equipment and expert knowledge and organizes charitable assistance, including Christmas aid shipments for local residents; Piotr Ziętara, President of Kraków Waterworks, is an Honorary Citizen of Drohobych), Kamianets-Podilskyi (groups of children from Kamianets-Podilskyi are occasionally hosted in Kraków), Khmelnytskyi, Odesa and Sumy, which received second-hand buses from Kraków’s Municipal Transport Company (MPK) in 2025.
During the meeting, the importance of local-government cooperation was emphasized. Regardless of the current international situation, such cooperation remains one of the most important pillars of building mutual trust, exchanging experience and jointly seeking solutions that serve local communities. Partnerships between cities enable the implementation of concrete projects in areas such as municipal services, transport, education, culture and humanitarian assistance, while also strengthening ties between local communities.
The Mayor of Kraków advocated a balanced and responsible approach to difficult chapters in the shared history of Poland and Ukraine. This does not mean ignoring them, but rather addressing them through dialogue based on facts, mutual respect and the conviction that understanding historical truth is the foundation for lasting reconciliation and good neighbourly relations. He stressed that the appropriate approach is to leave the conduct of dialogue on historical matters to the governmental institutions of both countries responsible for foreign policy and bilateral relations.
The situation in Ukraine was also discussed. Mayor Kracik expressed his full appreciation for the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers, highlighting their professionalism, excellent tactical preparation and the experience they have gained in defending their country. Consul General Oresta Starak, in turn, emphasized that despite the ongoing war, the people of Ukraine are striving to lead as normal a life as possible, to work, raise their children and maintain the functioning of the state and local communities.
The meeting with the Consul General of Ukraine confirmed the willingness to further develop cooperation between Kraków and its Ukrainian partners. Joint activities undertaken by local governments, based on solidarity, mutual trust and practical cooperation, remain an important element of building good relations between Poland and Ukraine and supporting Ukrainian communities during the ongoing war.
Oresta Starak is a diplomat with more than 30 years of experience in Ukraine’s foreign service. She has been working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine since 1992, holding consular and diplomatic positions in Poland, Turkmenistan, the United States and Türkiye, as well as senior positions at the Ministry’s headquarters. Before taking up her post as Consul General of Ukraine in Kraków, she worked at the Embassy of Ukraine in the United States. In recognition of her service, she has received numerous distinctions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
