Maryland Ends Sister-State Relationship With Leningrad

Hogan Ends Near 30 Year Partnership Amid Stress Of Russian Attack On Ukraine

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Gov. Larry Hogan announced Monday that he's dissolving Maryland's decades-old sister-state relationship with Russia's Leningrad region after the invasion of Ukraine.

Hogan said in a statement that over the weekend he directed the secretary of state to terminate the relationship that was established in 1993.

In a letter dated Monday to Gov. Aleksandr Drozdenko, Hogan wrote that the partnership was created "with a view to establishing bilateral relations and engaging in mutual exchange," but every government has a duty to "remain vigilant of unlawful acts against public order, democratic principles and innocent civilians." After witnessing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Hogan said he's "obliged to immediately dissolve and terminate" the relationship.