We Remember, Unite and Shall Overcome – UWC commemorates the 89th anniversary of the Holodomor

On November 26, 2022, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) calls upon the international community to Remember, Unite and Overcome, as we honor the victims of the Holodomor genocide of 1932-1933. The global Ukrainian community stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine who today are traditionally lighting candles of remembrance – despite severe power outages and damage to civilian infrastructure caused by Russian military aggression and Moscow’s massive terrorist rocket attacks.  

The Holodomor, a man-made famine planned and implemented by the Russian-led Soviet regime of Joseph Stalin, aimed to annihilate the Ukrainian people as a nation and break their desire for freedom and independence.  Having taken the lives of many millions, it remains one of the most horrific pages of Ukrainian history and the gravest crime of the Soviet regime. 

As Stalin feared that Ukrainian nationalism could bring down the Soviet empire, Putin today fears that Ukraine’s success as a democracy that respects the freedom and dignity of its people will bring down his own regime, a murderous autocratic kleptocracy.  In fact, Putin’s regime, as did Stalin’s, cynically denies the very existence of the Ukrainian nation.   

“Today we bow our heads in memory of every Ukrainian child, woman, and man who died innocently during the Holodomor.  Unfortunately, the evil that perpetrated the Holodomor has again returned in an effort to eradicate the Ukrainian nation. Russia is once again waging a genocidal war against the Ukrainian nation. The massacres of Bucha and Izyum, the mass graves, and the tortures, rapes and pillaging witnessed in liberated Ukrainian territories clearly demonstrate that the aim of the Russian occupiers is to liquidate the Ukrainian people,” stated Paul Grod, UWC President. 

To date, 21 countries have officially recognized Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.  Recently, the parliaments of Ireland, Moldova and Romania have officially made such a recognition.  The UWC together with Ukrainian communities around the world are working with the German Bundestag, the Croatian Sabor and many other legislatures to ensure they recognize the Holodomor as genocide over the coming days.  

“We thank each and every parliament, which has already recognized Holodomor as genocide and call on the remaining countries to follow. We call upon all civilized countries to recognize Russia as a terrorist state. Russia is deliberately killing Ukraine’s civilians on mass and has weaponized food in an attempt to create an artificial global food crisis and famine.  Russia’s leadership and military, its apologists and enablers, are all war criminals.  We call upon the United Nations to hold them to account by immediately establishing an international war crimes tribunal!” Paul Grod added.  

On November 26, UWC kindly asks every Ukrainian and friend of Ukraine to light a candle in the window of his/her home to honour the victims of the 1932-1933 Holodomor genocide. We also urge you to participate in commemorative events and memorial services in your local communities.  

We remember, unite, and shall overcome!