The leadership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine honored the memory of the victims of Babyn Yar
29 September 2023, 15:38
The First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniyenko and the Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk took part in the commemoration of the victims of Babyn Yar on the 82nd anniversary of the tragedy.
The
parliamentarians lit candles at the Menorah memorial sign on the territory of
the Babyn Yar National Historical and Memorial Reserve and, on behalf of the
Parliament, laid a basket of flowers in memory of all citizens who died during
the mass shootings by the Nazis in occupied Kyiv during World War II.
"This is a place of tragedy and a place of commemoration. Here, we and the whole world must understand the terrible lesson of Babyn Yar and the Second World War, which should never have happened again, but unfortunately, we see that today such horrors are happening again in Ukraine," the First Vice Speaker said during the commemoration ceremony.
He also noted that today the russian army is committing similar crimes to those committed by the Nazis. That is why Ukraine emphasizes at all international platforms that racism is the same destructive ideology as fascism, and the Babyn Yar tragedy is proof of this.
"The events at Babyn Yar are a huge tragedy for both the Jewish and Ukrainian people. This is our common misfortune. And we must do everything to ensure that the memory of these terrible crimes does not disappear, but is passed down from generation to generation," emphasized Oleksandr Korniyenko
The Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk also noted that Babyn Yar is a symbol of "great memory, great importance for Ukraine."
"Ukraine went through the most terrible times of the Second World War, and is going through something similar now. For us, this tragedy is very important as a memory, as a symbol of something that can never and should never happen again," emphasized Olena Kondratiuk.
According to her, unfortunately, the world did not learn the necessary lessons, did not stop the new evil, the new totalitarian and misanthropic ideology of racism and its minions in time.
"Bucha,
Irpin, Borodianka, Mariupol and many other new painful wounds were left behind
by the occupiers for many years and decades. More than 100,000 war crimes
committed by russia in Ukraine have been recorded. We honor the memory of the
victims of the Babyn Yar tragedy. And we remember all those who died because of
the russian invasion. This is a reminder to the whole world that evil must not
go unpunished, it must be stopped and defeated," emphasized the Vice
Speaker Olena Kondratiuk.
