• Українською
  • Comment of the MFA of Ukraine on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day
    Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, posted 27 January 2025 10:08

    On January 27, Ukraine and the world commemorate the memory of millions of victims of the Holocaust, one of the greatest crimes and human catastrophes in history. This solemn day serves as a mourning reminder of the unbearable suffering endured by those who became victims of Nazi terror.

    Exactly 80 years ago on this date, soldiers of the First Ukrainian Front liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, one of the largest Nazi death camps. This site has become a symbol not only of the Nazi regime's unprecedented cruelty but also an eternal testament to the importance of combating hatred and violence.

    Ukraine, on whose land numerous Holocaust crimes were committed during World War II, deeply shares the Jewish people's pain. We remember the victims of the tragedy in Babyn Yar, where tens of thousands of Jews were ruthlessly executed, along with other mass grave sites that have become mourning symbols of this dark chapter in human history.

    The Shoah tragedy is not merely a historical record, but a critical warning for humanity.

    In this context, it is especially painful to recognize that Russian aggression against Ukraine has brought back horrors not seen in Europe since the Second World War. The Jewish communities of Ukraine are also suffering from the constant Russian terror, particularly in the cities of Dnipro and Odesa, which have a population of over a million, and other towns and communities.

    Since 2022, even the annual celebration of Rosh Hashanah by Hasidic pilgrims in Uman has become a challenge for Ukrainian authorities, given the lack of adequate means to protect people from constant threat of Russian terrorist air attacks.

    It is most horrible to see people who survived the Holocaust die at the hands of Russian invaders in the 21st century. In March 2022, 96-year-old Borys Romanchenko, a survivor of several Nazi concentration camps during World War II, was killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv. In April 2022, 91-year-old Vira Obiedkova, who survived the Holocaust as a 10-year-old girl hiding in these cellars during the Nazi occupation, died in a cellar in Mariupol. The Russian bastards who took the lives of those whom the Nazis could not kill must be punished as severely as possible.

    The Russian occupiers destroy not only lives, but also places of remembrance. The memorial complex at Babyn Yar in Kyiv and the memorial menorah at Drobytskyi Yar in the Kharkiv region, which were damaged by Russian missile strikes in March 2022, are no exception. By destroying Ukraine's historical, cultural and spiritual monuments, the Russian invaders are trying to erase the historical truth in order to further falsify history. The common task of Ukraine and all states and international organisations that value human life is to defend historical justice and prevent the repetition of the terrible atrocities of the past.

    This commemorative day reminds us of the urgent need to not only remember these heinous crimes but actively combat any manifestations of hatred, discrimination, and intolerance. Ukraine steadfastly supports international initiatives aimed at preserving Holocaust memory and fighting anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and other forms of intolerance.

    We call upon all nations of the world to continue their united efforts in countering the hatred that breeds violence and to collaborate in building a future where such unimaginable tragedies will never be repeated.

    May the memory of all victims of the Holocaust be a blessing.