One year ago, russia launched its latest genocide against the Ukrainian people, when on February 24, 2022, its armed forces invaded Ukraine and began the slaughter, molestation and injury of innocent men, women, and children. Purportedly, the second largest military in the world came to protect russian citizens from Ukrainian discrimination. However, the slaughter they inflicted did not check for nationality. Their methods exposed the true nature of russians, as confirmed by their history of barbarism, imperialism, enslavement of captive nations and fascism. It exposed their culture as one that has no respect for human life, other people’s property, history and culture inasmuch as they simply take what they want, without any semblance of decency or humanity.
This war was intended to commit genocide against Ukraine, and we see that clearly stated in the article “What should Russia do with Ukraine,” written by Timofey Sergeytsev, a russian Political Technologist and published shortly after the current phase of the war began; what was written has actually been implemented by the russian invaders. The elimination of the Ukrainian nation – genocide – has been attempted by russia on Ukraine multiple times, unsuccessfully. In the 18th century, Tsar Peter I and Tsarina Catherine both put down independence movements of Ukraine and killed those who sought freedom. In more modern times, russia’s approach was calculated, at times opportunistic, initially either targeting a specific group of people or focusing not only on persons, but broadly on all aspects of Ukrainian identity – language, culture, religion, history.
Between 1918 – 1921, when Ukrainians revolted against russian rule, Ukrainian Civil authority was eliminated. Beginning in 1929 and continuing until the late 1930’s, Ukrainian intelligentsia was annihilated. Ukrainian churches and clergy were eliminated in the early 1930’s. When this did not subdue the Ukrainian peasantry (the core of Ukrainian identity and traditions), russia (aka the Soviet Union) imposed a premeditated (man-made) famine in Ukraine – the Holodomor – that killed millions of innocent men, women and children during a period of abundant harvest. Death by starvation is one of the most horrific ways to end one’s life, but the elite russians feasted and partied while their orders were carried out and millions died. When the courageous journalist Gareth Jones visited Ukraine during the Holodomor, he reported on the horror he witnessed. Stalin lied, as did his apologist journalist New York Times reporter Walter Duranty and the world did nothing to stop the genocide. In 1946, the Ukrainian Catholic Church was the target for complete destruction by russia, when they closed all the churches and killed or exiled its church leadership. In 1947, russia inflicted another famine by seizing grain and shipping it out of Ukraine to russia’s newly acquired satellite “captive” nations. Ukrainian nationalist leaders were assassinated routinely, beginning in 1926 and continuing on through to the late 1950’s. In the 1960’s and 70’s Ukrainian dissidents were the target; they were exiled to Siberia by russia.
russia’s current genocide in Ukraine is just its latest attempt to obliterate the Ukrainian nation. Today millions of Ukrainians are feeling the effects of this particular version, including descendants of Holodomor survivors who are witnessing the same barbarian cruelty their ancestors experienced during the Holodomor. In addition to those directly impacted by the current genocide, other nations are feeling the effects of russia’s inhumanity. Food security is threatened by russia’s burning of grain fields, by the blockade of Ukrainian food preventing it from being shipped out and by a traditional tactic – theft of Ukrainian grain by russia. World security is also being threatened by the incompetent control of nuclear power plants and downright threats of nuclear war by russian leadership.
Facing down all of russia’s attempts at the elimination of the Ukrainian nation, Ukraine has persevered and despite extreme adversity never lost its identity. As the world can now clearly see, the propagandist lies that Ukraine and russia are one nation and we are brothers, is just that – big lies that russia has peddled for centuries. NO! We are not the same and never will be. Ukrainians are a peace-loving nation, whose desire for freedom and independence is at the very core of who we are. We respect other cultures but do not want to steal anyone else’s, since we have a very rich one of our own; we don’t seek to steal someone else’s history because we are proud of the long and glorious history that we have; we want to learn other languages but we love the beautiful melodic language that we already have; we thank the ancient Greeks (Byzantium) for our religion which we have adapted to be our own.
We are Ukrainian and no one will ever take that away from us. russia’s war against Ukraine has been raging since 2014 when it invaded Donbas and illegally annexed regions of Ukraine into russia. Without accomplishing their goals, russia escalated their effort into a full blown barbaric war last year. As we are now one year into the brutal phase of a horrific battle for the very existence of the Ukrainian nation, Ukrainians around the world are united as never before; democratic nations have united with Ukraine by providing military and humanitarian aid. All Ukrainians are very thankful for the support received and beseech governments to continue their support for Ukraine, whose talented and heroic military is fighting a war to protect Ukraine and the democratic nations from the barbaric, imperialistic, and frankly maniacal new world order planned by russia. Long range weapons, planes, ammunition are urgently needed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as requested by President Volodymyr Zelensky. Please answer our pleas now, so that the war can end, and fewer Ukrainian lives lost. Ukraine will win this war.
On February 24th, please join in your local community commemoration of the most recent genocide attempted by russia in Ukraine to pray for the brave and heroic souls who have been lost, to thank God for his continued protection of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and to remember that we Ukrainians have a heroic ancestry – Prince Ihor, Princess Olha, Prince Yaroslav the Wise, Ivan Mazepa, Bohdan Chmelnytsky, Taras Shevchenko, Symon Petlura, Stepan Bandera, Roman Shukhevych, Volodymyr Ivasiuk, The Heavenly Hundred, ATO and countless others. Our Ukrainian Armed Forces have proven to be some of the most creative, competent, committed and caring military in the world. Our united support has had a positive impact. Together, we shall overcome!
All Ukrainians in the world are descendants of one of the multiple attempted Ukrainian genocides perpetrated by one of the forms of russia (The russian Empire, the Soviet Union or the russian Federation). I ask everyone, everywhere – unite to raise awareness in your communities about the atrocities committed by russia in Ukraine, reach out to your government representatives requesting urgent action in fulfilling President Zelensky’s requests, dispel the propaganda and disinformation being spread by russia and its trolls (especially in the media) around the world every chance you get. Let this be the last time russia attempts to commit genocide against Ukraine! Eternal Memory to those murdered by russia.
Glory to Ukraine – Glory to her Heroes!
Olya Soroka
Chair of the Holodomor Descendants’ Network
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