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The metal bull that decorated the Ukrainian city will be located in Ukmergė

On 17 August, Mayor Rolandas Janickas, Director of Administration Darius Varnas and his Deputy Dalė Steponavičienė welcomed guests from the Ukrainian partner city Korosten: Oleg Golovchuk, Head of the Heat Technological Equipment Plant, Korosten City Councillor, and Leonid Yakubovsky, Head of the Utilities Service.

During the meeting, the Ukrainians thanked Ukmergė District Municipality and all the people of the district for their support and assistance to Ukraine. They also discussed the possibilities of transporting humanitarian goods and the purchase and transfer of bullet-proof vests to the soldiers.

After the conversation, L. Yakubovsky handed over to the heads of the municipality a bundle of drawings made by Ukrainian children depicting the friendship between Lithuania and Ukraine, symbols of the cities of Ukmergė and Korosten. Mayor R. Janickas was presented with a letter of appreciation from Volodymyr Moskalenko, the Mayor of Korosten, for his help to Ukrainians.

The main purpose of the guests from Ukraine was to present Ukmergė with a gift - a bull, the symbol of our city's coat of arms. In 1792, the rights of the free city and the coat of arms were confirmed to Ukmergė by the king of Poland and Lithuania, Stanisław August Poniatowski. One of the elements of the coat of arms is a red calf - the symbol of the Poniatowski family. The coat of arms was once drawn by the inhabitants and approved by the King.

A bull, brought from Ukraine and produced at the Korosten Heat Technological Equipment Plant as a symbol of 2021, has been a decoration of Korosten all year round. However, the bull was painted white. According to O. Golovchuk, this bull was a popular object in the city and probably all Korostenians have photos of themselves in front of it.  Later, when cooperation with Ukmergė was started and its coat of arms was seen, the Ukrainians came up with the idea of repainting their bull in red and presenting it to Ukmergė as a token of appreciation for all the help.

The impressive Ukrainian gift, a bull weighing around 100 kilograms, measuring around 3 metres long and 1.5 metres high, is made of metal and painted with high-quality red paint. Stylised chandeliers in the colours of the Lithuanian and Ukrainian flags are placed next to it. Currently, the piece is temporarily housed in the heart of Ukmergė - in the gallery "Broma" on Vienuolyno Street. Anyone wishing to see it can do so. Later, it will be decided where the bull will "live" permanently.

The delegation also left a gift for Alvydas Polka, the head of Aljuva UAB - a sinking Russian ship - as a token of appreciation for his help in the purchase of minibuses for Ukrainian troops.

The friendship between Ukmergė and Korosten began on 29 April this year.

Chrisija Kvietkauskienė
Chief Specialist of Information Technology and Public Relations department

Dainius Vytas picture.