Ukrainian communities in Europe urge European voters to vote for pro-Ukrainian parties in the upcoming European Parliament elections, which will take place from June 6 to 9.
Pavlo Sadokha, UWC Vice-President and President of the Union of Ukrainians in Portugal, addressed Portuguese society, the local publication Expresso reports.
“Dear Portuguese! … After the national oppression during the Soviet occupation of Ukraine, which destroyed millions of lives, many Ukrainians have learned to respect their own history, language, culture, and also to respect others,” Sadokha writes.
Unfortunately, Ukraine is facing a different world, says the UWC Vice President. “A world of aggressive leaders who want to return to the totalitarian past, blackmailing independent countries with a new world war or nuclear catastrophe. But we will never return to that past. We have made our choice and every day we pay a very high price for confronting Russian aggression, which we have also achieved with your help,” the statement reads.
Dividing the united Europe is Putin’s only way to subjugate Ukraine, and then conquer other countries, emphasizes Sadokha. “Putin does not have unlimited resources to continue the war. His greatest strength lies not in weapons or the number of soldiers. He continues to buy influence agents or even political parties within the EU. Their main strength is propaganda, corruption, and populism. … Putin is most afraid of a united democratic Europe, of free countries,” the statement says.
On Europe Day, the Ukrainian community asks the Portuguese to vote for Ukraine in the upcoming elections, which defends European values against the face of the totalitarian fascism of Putin’s Russia. “Make your choice in favor of the guardian of peace, the free world, and the united Europe: from Kyiv to Lisbon!” the statement concludes.
At the same time, Oles Horodetskyy, President of the Christian Association of Ukrainians and Ukrainian community leader in Rome, in an interview with KYIV24 live, said that this year two Ukrainian women are running for the European Parliament elections from Italy. These are Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Kudryk and activist Marina Sorina from Verona.
“Perhaps for the first time in history, Ukrainian women are candidates for the European Parliament. And we will support them,” said Horodetskyy.
Cover: Shutterstock; Manuel de Almeida
