Right Reverend Dr
Christopher Cocksworth Bishop of Coventry

The BBC reports that the Bishop of Coventry, the Right Reverend Dr Christopher Cocksworth, said he wanted Coventry’s twinning with Volgograd in Russia to continue despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine that he hoped to use it to tell their “Russian friends” about “our horror at what is happening.

“I don’t think [the twinning arrangement] should end, but I think we need to use that twinning relationship to bring to the attention of our Russian friends the seriousness of the current situation and our horror at what is happening.”

He said that not only included the Ukrainian people, but also “the Russian soldiers who are caught up in this I feel for their families, who will be burying their dead, as the Ukrainian people who are suffering so much.”

He said war was “the most awful, dreadful thing” and added: “We thought we would never see anything like this again”.

His comments followed the decision of Coventry City of Culture Trust (CoCT) to postpone the public sharing of the Volgograd Digital Tablecloth which has been created with arts organisations and community groups in Coventry and Volgograd to provide a picture of everyday life, as seen through the eyes of their citizens.

CoCT writes that “this is absolutely no reflection on those involved in the project, but we feel this is the right course of action for now.

“We are appalled by the events in Ukraine and send our thoughts to all affected as we join our partners in calling for urgent resolution to this hostility and a return to peace.”