The UK has commemorated the 90th anniversary of the Ukrainian Holodomor, a horrific famine that killed millions of innocent people.
Ankur Narayan, UK Delegation to the OSCE, led tributes to the Ukraine as it faces a dark period of premeditated and unprovoked Russian aggression. Recognising the victims and Ukrainian friends who continue to work to expose the truth of the Holodomor, despite decades of suppression by the Soviet Union, he condemned the persecution of other organisations and individuals who seek to expose Soviet-era atrocities, particularly in Russia.
Despite the Holodomor, Ukraine continues to face Russian aggression, using food as a weapon of war. Russia has conducted hundreds of strikes against Ukraine’s ports, preventing Ukraine from exporting its grain, which is crucial for global food security and resilient global markets. The UK Foreign Secretary’s visit to Odesa highlighted support for Ukrainian efforts to defend itself from Russian attacks on its grain exports and infrastructure. The Foreign Secretary launched the new 'Unity Facility’ between Marsh McLennan and the Ukrainian government, providing affordable shipping insurance for companies’ grain and other critical food supplies from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
The UK welcomes Ukraine’s Summit on 25 November, which will drive support for the 'Grain from Ukraine’ initiative and consider concrete steps to counter Russia’s illegal invasion on global food security. It is vital that we work collectively to promote global food security and prevent suffering like the Holodomor from repeating.
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine (1932-1933), orchestrated by Joseph Stalin’s regime. Around 7 million Ukrainians perished due to forced collectivization, grain requisition, and policies suppressing Ukrainian identity. The truth of the scale of the Soviet atrocity was covered up until Ukraine gained its independence in 1991. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion, many country’s have issues resolutions classifying the crime as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian nation.
