UWC President addresses EU leaders on the brink of May 9th

Toronto – 28 April 2023. Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Paul Grod addressed a letter to President of the European Council, Charles Michel, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, calling upon EU institutions and member states to counter Russian propaganda and distortion of historical facts as we approach May 9th. 

“Russia continues to wage disinformation warfare in Europe and around the world. As we approach traditional memorial days celebrated across the EU in early May, notably Victory in Europe Day and Europe Day we kindly ask that you broadly condemn Russia’s attempt to distort European history,” the letter reads.

As noted in the UWC appeal, Russia and its criminal leadership are using the common memory of the victory over Nazism to “promote militarism, whitewash the horrific crimes of Soviet-Communism and justify their modern genocidal war of aggression against Ukraine and hybrid war against European countries.” 

In the appeal, the UWC President draws the attention of EU leaders to one of the main tools of Russian hybrid aggression – Russian state-funded and coordinated campaigns such as the “Bezsmertnyi Polk” (“Immortal Regiment”)  – and proposes to stop such campaigns in EU member states. 

The letter also emphasizes the importance of ensuring accountability for those responsible for the war in Ukraine and establishing an International Tribunal for the Investigation of Russian War Crimes.