Shrewsbury could become twinned with Okhtyrka, a Ukrainian city in north-east Ukraine that has endured intense fighting, artillery shells and air strikes since Russia's invasion began.
Okhtyrka is home to around 47,000 people and lies just over 20 miles from the Russian border. Despite the ongoing conflict, the city has never been occupied and was awarded the honorary title of Hero City of Ukraine in March 2022.
How the twinning idea came about
Labour councillor Rosemary Dartnall put forward the twinning suggestion to a meeting of Shrewsbury Town Council, and it was agreed the idea would be looked into further.
The proposal came after Dartnall learned about the city through Mila Prysyazhna, a Ukrainian living in her division who runs a charity called Shropshire Supports Ukraine. Prysyazhna has a contact, Andrii Brynchak, a priest from Lviv who moved his family to help those living in Okhtyrka and has remained there since.
Dartnall said visits to the city might not be possible at this time, but twinning would be "an act of friendship and support for those in Okhtyrka at a time of unimaginable crisis".
Shrewsbury's history of twinning
Shrewsbury was previously twinned with Zutphen in the Netherlands from 1977 to 2018. That partnership ended due to budget constraints and a review of agreements.
Dartnall noted that people in Shrewsbury had already shown their generosity towards Ukraine, sending aid to the country and housing refugees. She said that "with the ongoing war in Ukraine, twinning with a town on the front line seems like a suitable focus for our citizens".
What happens next
A cross-party working group will report back on the twinning proposal on 7 December.