On the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor famine, which afflicted millions of Ukrainians under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, President Volodymyr Zelensky promised on Saturday that Ukraine would continue to repel Russian attacks.
Following weeks of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s electrical grid that resulted in extensive power and water disruptions as winter arrived, a number of European politicians travelled to the country to express their support.
In a social media video, Zelensky added, “Once they intended to eliminate us with hunger, now — with darkness and cold.” We cannot be broken, he added.
Despite the war, Ukraine had exported 12 million tonnes of food to the international market in the interim, including 2.5 million tonnes to nations facing their own food problems, he claimed.
READ ALSO: Donald Trump Declares His 2024 Presidential Bid
In honour of the victims of the Holodomor, which is Ukrainian for “death by starvation,” leaders from Belgium, Lithuania, and Poland were in Kyiv on Saturday. Kyiv views the Holodomor as a planned act of genocide by Stalin’s administration.
The prime ministers of Poland and Lithuania were in Ukraine for discussions that, according to local media, would centre on a potential influx of additional migrants this winter from Ukraine.
Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister of Poland, “honoured the memories of the Holodomor victims” at a memorial in Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian Border Guard Service.
Alexander De Croo, the prime minister of Belgium, also visited the area for the first time since Russia’s invasion.
“Arrived in Kyiv,” he wrote on Twitter, posting photos of him shaking hands with Zelensky. “After the heavy bombing of recent days, we stand with the people of Ukraine. More than ever before.”
According to the Belga news agency, Belgium committed an additional 39 million euros ($37.4 million) in financial support for Ukraine.
Following Russian strikes, many Kyiv residents have been without power for the past three days. There, according to officials, 90% of the heating and 75% of the electricity had been restored as the temperature dropped close to freezing.
