Ukrainian lawmakers have approved a bill on the completion and establishment of the Holodomor Genocide Museum. Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) made this decision in a session on February 7. The museum project involves assistance from the Canadian government, according to MP Yevheniia Kravchuk.
230 MPs supported the initiative. “The law is a prerequisite for the Government of Canada to allocate approximately UAH 420 million for the museum’s completion, as well as additional financial support from patrons and the diaspora for the exhibition arrangement. This became possible due to the proactive position of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in dialogue with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,” said Kravchuk.
After the bill’s adoption, the Holodomor Museum will establish supervisory and expert councils comprising representatives from professional and scientific groups, international organizations of the global Ukrainian community, and descendants of Holodomor victims.
In January, the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada supported the bill that will allow the completion of the Holodomor-Genocide Museum at the expense of the Canadian government.
The inauguration of the National Museum of the Holodomor Genocide in Kyiv took place in August 2009 following an order from the Ukrainian government. The initial phase of the facility was completed in 2008, with construction on the second phase commencing in 2017. However, progress was interrupted by the pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion. In November 2020, Volodymyr Zelenskyy directed the government to allocate funding to complete the National Holodomor Genocide Museum complex project.
However, this year, in July, the President of Ukraine promised a draft law on allocating over half a million hryvnias to complete the museum’s construction. Zelenskyy stated that the priority task now is to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.
The construction of the second stage of the complex was partially financed from the state budget in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-2022. The construction of the memorial complex honoring the victims of the Holodomor was provided for by the law “On the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine”.
In October 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed Ottawa’s intention to allocate funds to Ukraine to complete the Holodomor Museum in Kyiv in a conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
