Sarasota Suspends Relationship With Russian Sister City

SARASOTA, FL — Sarasota commissioners voted unanimously earlier this week to suspend the relationship with their sister city of Vladimir, Russia, several news outlets reported.

The measure to sever ties — at least temporarily — between the two cities was spearheaded by Commissioner Hagen Brody and comes as the Russian invasion into Ukraine intensifies.

Hundreds of residential buildings have been destroyed in Ukraine while many civilians have died or been injured in what Russia simply calls a "special military operation." To date, more than 2.2 million people have fled Ukraine seeking safety, according to the United Nations.

"We’ve all seen the atrocities in the news over the last several days of what’s happening in Ukraine with Russia’s invasion. That is not a war — that is a slaughter," Brody said during the meeting.

"Suspending our relationship with the sister city indefinitely is in line with the international community’s response to isolating Russia," he continued.

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Meanwhile, the Sister Cities Association of Sarasota president Miriam Kramer opposes the decision and believes isolating the people of Russia just empowers Putin even more, WFTS-TV reported.

"The Russians who are part of our organization are pro-peace, they spread the message that we are not evil because that’s what Putin wants to put into the media," Kramer said.

Vladimir, about 114 miles northeast of Moscow, has been a sister city to Sarasota since 1994, according to the Sister Cities Association of Sarasota website.