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Date Published: 19/04/2022

ARCHIVED - This is the Spanish town that changed its name to Ukraine

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The town of Fuentes de Fuentes de Andalucía in Seville has made a symbolic stand against Putin

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - This is the Spanish town that changed its name to Ukraine

The small Spanish village of Fuentes de Andalucía (population 7,000) in the province of Seville temporarily changed its name to ‘Ucrania’ (Ukraine) as a stand against the Russian invasion.

It was just for one week during Easter, or Semana Santa as it’s known in Spain, but the symbolic move has captured the imagination of a people in the fight against Russian aggression in Ukraine (the eastern European country, not the Spanish town).

As well as renaming the whole town ‘Ukraine’, some of the main streets were also renamed after Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Kherson and Odesa.

Temporary plaques have been placed over the existing street names, and include explanations about where the city is in Ukraine and the recent atrocities that have been committed there.

For example, on the sign for Calle Ciudad de Kharkiv street, there is a note reading: “Destroyed by massive bombardment by the Russian army”.

🇺🇦🇪🇸Fuentes de Andalusia in Spain is named "Ukraine" this week. Some of its streets are currently renamed Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Kherson and Odesa.
This decision was made by the local city authorities.
📷 Embassy of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Spain.#StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/AUzr43wm3O
— Olga Kuzma 🇺🇦 (@olga_reports) April 15, 2022

Town Mayor Francisco Martínez said the decision to change the names was about more than just showing support to the Ukrainian people, but actually served to educate about what’s going on and how to fight against oppression.

“What we’re doing is sending a message to the youngsters of the village, who can see how this is being organised, and that we all help together,” he said.

This is not the first time Fuentes de Andalucía has changed the names of its streets – it has several roads named after countries around the world which have been invaded, including Syria, Ethiopia, Yemen, Palestine and Afghanistan. This is the first time the whole town has seen a name change though.

Around 25 Ukrainian refugees have also been rehomed in the town.

Image: Ayuntamiento de Fuentes de Andalucía

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