Ukraine's agricultural infrastructure is again attacked by Moscow, as in the period 1932-1933, but this time by Vladimir Putin, the leader said of the US mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Catherine Brooker, quoted by Ukrinform.
„In November every year we mark a sad anniversary of the Hunger. For the third year we are doing this while the brave people of Ukraine continue to fight for their freedom and for the sovereignty of Ukraine against Russian military aggression,” Brooker stressed during the regular meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on the occasion of the 91st anniversary from the famine genocide in Ukraine in 1932-1933
She recalled that 91 years ago, the inhumane policies of Joseph Stalin and the Soviet regime created the Gladomora or “starvation death”. Millions of Ukrainians – men, women and children suffered and starved to death in 1932 and 1933 because of a man-made famine that Solzhenitsyn wrote had “come without drought and without war”.
Stalin and his regime systematically seized Ukrainian grain and farms, Ukrinform recalls.
„Stalin's regime transferred this grain to other parts of the Soviet Union as a tactic to suppress Ukrainian national identity,” the diplomat said. "The Kremlin did everything possible to hide the truth from the world," she added.
Brooker pointed out that now the Ukrainian agricultural infrastructure is again being deliberately targeted, “this time by Vladimir Putin”.
„Russian forces are trying to destroy Ukraine's economy and independence by deliberately damaging farmland and destroying grain storage facilities, ports and ships. This is not only an attack on Ukraine and its economic security, it is also a threat to global food security, Brooker noted.
The diplomat emphasized that the Ukrainian people survived the horror of the Hunger Games, “showing their indomitable spirit”. The survivors and their successors “eventually built a free, democratic and independent Ukraine”.
„On this anniversary, we will remember and honor all Ukrainians, past and present, who have withstood and continue to withstand unimaginable hardships in defense of their land against tyranny. We stand by a united Ukraine”, said the head of the American mission to the OSCE.
The day in memory of the victims of the famine is celebrated on November 23, Ukrinform reminds.