'Gonna be really special': Bozeman’s newest sister city is Kopychyntsi, Ukraine

In western Ukraine, almost 300 miles from Kyiv, is a small city called Kopychyntsi. The municipality is rural and agricultural. It’s slightly southeast of Lviv, in Ukraine’s Ternopil Oblast region.

It’s also Bozeman’s newest sister city.

At Tuesday’s Bozeman City Commission meeting, Mayor Joey Morrison officially entered an agreement on international territorial cooperation with the municipality.

The mayor of the municipality Kopychyntsi, Bogden Kelichavyi, attended the meeting via phone from Ukraine, where it was just after 2 a.m.

The effort to create an official partnership between Kopychyntsi and Bozeman was spearheaded by Brit Fontenot, Bozeman’s director of economic development.

The Cities4Cities initiative has helped make this “passion project” happen alongside Fontenot.

David O’Keefe, U.S. partner for Cities4Cities, also attended the meeting via phone. O’Keefe will continue to help facilitate and support this partnership between Kopychyntsi and Bozeman.

“I think that this partnership is gonna be really special,” he said.

Commissioner Jennifer Madgic spoke about her great-grandfather coming from Ukraine and “seeking the American dream.”

She said she feels a certain kinship between the U.S. and Ukraine.

Fontenot shared that he first met Kelichavyi in Kyiv in November 2018, when he was an economic development specialist at a conference where Fontenot was presenting. Fontenot learned about Kelichavyi’s desire to give back to his community and country and the two men have continued their friendship ever since.

Fontenot offered support after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Kelichavyi asked Fontenot not to forget about Ukraine, since he knew about the 24-hour news cycle and how coverage of the war wouldn’t stay consistent.

“I promised him that I wouldn’t forget, and tonight I’m following through on that promise,” Fontenot said while giving his presentation to city commissioners.

Bozeman has an existing partnership with Kopychyntsi and Fontenot called the city a “credible and trusted partner.”

“We are not strangers to the people of Kopychyntsi,” he said.

There are four pillars to this partnership: Economic development, governing and governance, education and schools, and veterans’ services.

Fontenot came up with these pillars while consulting with Kelichavyi. Part of this proposal includes a model and mentor system with partnerships between people and organizations in Bozeman and Kopychyntsi.

“The research that I’ve done demonstrates that this particular model is low cost but high impact, and that’s what we’re after,” Fontenot said. “It’s not about spending money, it’s about relationships.”

Fontenot added the agreement is not binding and “does not create legal or financial obligations for the either party.”

Local artist Jim Dolan, known for his art installation “Bleu Horses” off U.S. Highway 287, near Three Forks, gifted one of his metal horse sculptures to the people of Kopychyntsi.

The horse’s name is Mustang and sits in the town square.

Mayor Kelichavyi spoke at the end of meeting, where it was almost 5 a.m. his time. He said there are Bozeman residents living in Kopychyntsi and he is the godfather of one of their children.

He also called Fontenot a friend and said, “I already learned so much from him.”

Kelichavyi spoke well of Bozeman and talked about visiting in 2022, which included going to Montana State University and meeting the school’s Ukraine Relief Effort organization.

“I’m happy to meet you all,” he said at the end of the meeting.

Fontenot is working on helping a delegation from Kopychyntsi visit Bozeman this fall.

“We are deeply connected to one another, and our mutual prosperity makes our community safer, makes our world safer,” Morrison said.