UWC Vice President addresses UAE’s Lithuanian community on Freedom Defenders’ Day

Yevheniy Semenov, UWC Vice President for Middle East and Central Asia, addressed the Lithuanian community in the UAE in observance of Lithuania’s Freedom Defenders’ Day. This year, the Lithuanian community in the UAE expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people, and the commemorative event honoring freedom defenders featured both Ukrainian and Lithuanian flags.

“I sincerely thank Ambassador Ramūnas Davidonis, the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the United Arab Emirates, and the vibrant Lithuanian community in the UAE, for your thoughtful and heartfelt commemoration of Freedom Defenders Day. Together with the people of Lithuania, we honour the memory of the brave heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of independence on January 13, 1991,” the UWC Vice President wrote.

In the letter to Mr. Ramūnas Davidonis, the UWC Vice President emphasized that Freedom Defenders Day reminds us of the courage and sacrifice of the Lithuanian people, who fought for their country’s independence. The Ukrainian community in the UAE and Ukraine as a whole honor the memory of brave heroes who gave the most precious – their lives – for the right to be free.

“I wish to express my profound gratitude to you and the vibrant Lithuanian community in the UAE for your thoughtful and heartfelt commemoration of Freedom Defenders Day. It was truly heartening to witness the symbolic 1333-meter walk organized by the Embassy and the Lithuanian Community in Abu Dhabi on January 13, 2024, which paid homage not only to Lithuania’s peaceful fight for freedom but also to Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the aggressor. I am deeply moved by the enduring friendship between our two nations, and I take pride in acknowledging that Lithuania was among the first to stand by Ukraine’s side when it needed support the most. This steadfast solidarity will forever be etched in the hearts of over 65 million Ukrainians living around the world,” Semenov emphasized in the letter.

From January 8 to 13, 1991, in Vilnius, the Soviet leadership attempted to use military methods to bring Lithuania, which had declared the restoration of independence, back into the state of the Lithuanian SSR. In Lithuania, the Kremlin provoked bloody clashes between the Soviet army and the local population.

On January 13, Lithuania celebrates Freedom Defenders Day, honoring the memory of those who died on January 13, 1991, during the Soviet aggression in Vilnius.