UWC joins commemorative events honoring the 90th Holodomor anniversary 

On November 25, the Ukrainian World Congress leadership joined the highest state-level commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor genocide. UWC President Paul Grod, Vice Presidents Stefan Romaniw, and Andriy Futey lit candles together with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, First Lady Olena Zelenska, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov, Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine, Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church His Beatitude Sviatoslav, and other Ukraine’s political and military leaders in memory of the innocent men, women, and children who perished from famine in 1932-33. 

Despite Russia’s record-breaking attack on Ukraine with 75 kamikaze drones on the night of November 25, high-ranking representatives of Ukraine’s partner countries gathered at a solemn meeting in the Verkhovna Rada.

The UWC delegation included UWC President Paul Grod, Andriy Futey, UWC Vice President and the President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA), Stefan Romaniw, First Vice President of the Ukrainian World Congress and Co-Chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO), Mykola-Myroslav Petretskyi, UWC Vice President for Eastern Europe and the President of the Union of Ukrainians in Romania (UUR), Roman Mykytenko, UWC Vice President for Northern Europe, and Roman Grod, the President of the World Congress of Ukrainian Students, Andriy Shevchenko, Head of the UWC Mission to Ukraine and Serhiy Kasyanchuk, Director of the UWC Mission to Ukraine.

Today, Ukraine’s allies, who had acknowledged the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as a genocide against the Ukrainian population, assembled at Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada. In particular, Stephanie D’Hose, President of the Belgian Senate, Miloš Vystrčil, President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Jussi Halla-aho, Speaker of the Parliament of Finland, Jerry Buttimer, Chairman of the Senate of Ireland, and Michal Scherba, the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly joined the meeting.

“Almost every speech had the same parallel and words of support and solidarity with the Ukrainian people! The world admires the courage and bravery of Ukrainians and thanks our Heroes for their fight for democracy and freedom,” the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine wrote.

The UWC President issued a video address to 65 million Ukrainians globally. Paul Grod declared that Putin’s actions parallel Stalin’s from 90 years ago, aiming to eradicate the Ukrainian population.

“Today, we are commemorating the 90th anniversary of Russia’s genocidal famine, which took the lives of millions of Ukrainians. In parallel, the Russian Soviet regime exterminated thousands of Ukrainian priests, academics, politicians, and school teachers for their Ukrainian patriotic beliefs. We bow our heads in memory of the victims of Holodomor, and we double our commitment to support the people of Ukraine from Russia’s genocidal invasion today,” stated the UWC President.

Putin has made it clear: that he intends to erase Ukraine from the map of Europe, Paul Grod said. “Those who are calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine should understand that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not an ordinary war. This is an attempt to exterminate the Ukrainian nation, which will not end until Russia is defeated,” the UWC President emphasized. 

At Ukraine’s holiest St. Sophia Cathedral, the UWC delegation pledged to preserve the Holodomor’s memory across future generations. Joining the #ShineALight online campaign, the Ukrainian World Congress leadership paid tribute to the memory of millions of Ukrainians who perished from famine by lighting a candle in solemn remembrance.