On January 27, on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which has been launched by the UN General Assembly in 2005, we are honoring the millions killed in the Shoah - the genocide of Jews.

During World War II Hitler's Germany sought to completely exterminate the Jewish people, particularly in the occupied territories of Ukraine. As a result of the Holocaust, at least 1.5 million Jews were killed in Ukraine, which constituted a quarter of Europe's Jews exterminated during the Shoah.

Ukraine strongly condemns crimes against humanity, opposes all forms of anti-Semitism, intolerance, and condemns all attempts to justify or deny the Holocaust. In September 2021 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted the Law ‘On Preventing and Combating Anti-Semitism in Ukraine’.

Last year, Ukraine commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy, during which nearly 34,000 Ukrainian Jews were executed by the Nazis in a matter of days. Commemorative events dedicated to the anniversary of the tragedy were attended by the high-level representatives of Ukraine’s international partners, numerous representatives of Jewish NGOs, Holocaust witnesses and Ukrainians who rescued Jews during the Nazi occupation. The Yad Vashem Special Commission has identified 2,673 names of such Ukrainians, awarding them the honorary title of ‘Righteous Among the Nations.’

On this day we commemorate the horrific events of the Holocaust so that they never happen again, and we call for a concerted effort to prevent all manifestations of xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance.

The commemoration of the Holocaust victims on Ukrainian soil will never stop.

Ukraine remembers.