As part of Ukraine Week, Washington, D.C., hosted important events dedicated to commemorating the victims of communism and discussing Russia's current crimes. Representatives of Ukraine and the international community took part in events organized by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC), in particular at the Museum of the Victims of Communism in Washington, DC.
This was reported by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.
These events were a reminder of the crimes of the totalitarian regimes of the past and the current war crimes of Russia. Ukrainian representatives, as part of their advocacy in the international arena, called on the international community to increase pressure on Russia, especially in the area of human rights and religious freedom.
In particular, at the Holodomor memorial, Congressman Joe Wilson, Chief Chaplain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Larysa Polianska, VOC President Eric Patterson, and other officials noted the importance of preserving the memory of the tragedies caused by the communist regime.
"I used to think of this terrible, planned famine as just that - one of the Communists' vile tactics to force people into submission. But it was much more than that. The Holodomor was just one of many efforts by Soviet Russia to destroy Ukraine as a culture, a faith, a history, and a people with a unique and distinctive future. Sadly, the attempts to destroy Ukraine's identity as a free and independent nation continue today under the leadership of Putin's Russia. As we remember the victims of the past, we stand with the people of Ukraine today as they seek a just and lasting peace," said VOC President and CEO Dr. Eric Patterson.
And at the Museum of the Victims of Communism, a panel discussion honoring the "Martyrs of Communism" featured Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, Ambassador Sam Brownback, International Religious Freedom Summit Co-Chair Katrina Lantos Swett and VOC President Eric Patterson. They discussed the persecution of religious leaders by totalitarian regimes and current challenges.
"The misanthropic nature of communist ideology led to the Holodomor of 1932-1933, political repression, mass murder and deportation, and other crimes against Ukrainians and other peoples. Russia has inherited this "legacy" and remains an evil empire that destroys lives. Therefore, in the war against the Russian aggressor, we are now defending not only our freedom," said U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Oksana Markarova.
In addition, the Ombudsman of Ukraine, Dmytro Lubinets, spoke at the International Roundtable on Religious Freedom, where he emphasized the crimes of the Russian Federation against religious communities in the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine.
"The focus of my speech was on the heinous crimes of the Russian Federation against religious figures in the TOT of Ukraine and religious freedom. I noted that the Russians are illegally detaining Ukrainian civilians, torturing and killing them, and destroying religious sites. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 613 of them have been destroyed," shared Lubinets
Lubinets also held a meeting with Christiane Levesque, the chief prosecutor of the U.S. Department of Justice, during which he presented the facts of Russia's war crimes against prisoners of war, civilians and children.
Author: Inna Mikhno