Oxford already has one official sister city: Differdange, Luxembourg. Miami University has maintained a European campus in Differdange since 1968.
Mayor Bill Snavely said part of the inspiration for taking on another city came from a recent visit to Differdange.
“When [city manager Doug Elliott] and I were at Differdange, we found out that we were the only sister city there who only had one sister city,” Snavely said. “So we kind of had it in our mind that if there was another appropriate one that we might look into it, and we really think that at this time, with what’s going on in the world, that a Ukrainian city is especially appropriate.”
Ukrainian Action, a nonprofit organization dedicated to delivering truckloads of supplies to Ukraine as the war with Russia continues, helped identify Dubno as Oxford’s next sister city. Jeffrey Hartman, an alumnus of Miami University who now lives in London, created the nonprofit with his wife Natasha in March of 2022.
Snavely said he spoke with the mayor of Dubno, Vasyl Antoniuk, on a video call, and Antoniuk is excited about the partnership. Snavely said that while on the call, Antoniuk had several suggestions for Oxford and Dubno to become closer, including starting service clubs for residents.
After the resolutions passed July 18, Snavely and former mayor Mike Smith set out for Ukraine the next day to bring the partnership agreement to Antoniuk in person.
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