UK recognizes Holodomor event as genocide of Ukrainian nation

The members of the British House of Commons unanimously approved the recognition of the Holodomor event in the 1930s as a genocide of the Ukrainian people, BBC reports.

This decision was initiated by MP Pauline Letham from the Conservative Party of Great Britain. Letham stated that the recognition should serve as a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, given the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The MP drew parallels between the deliberate starvation and forced displacement carried out by the Soviet Union, which resulted in the death of millions of Ukrainians, and the current situation in Ukraine. Letham emphasized that both Stalin in the 1930s and Putin today sought to destroy the identity of the Ukrainian people.

However, the decision made by the British Parliament does not hold any legal implications for Russia, as highlighted by journalists.

The Holodomor event

The Holodomor, which occurred during Stalin's rule in 1932-1933, was a mass famine caused by the forced collectivization of agriculture in the USSR. The number of victims reached millions, and Ukraine asserts that this tragedy was intentionally orchestrated by the Soviet leadership.

The Holodomor has been a contentious issue between Ukraine and Russia for a long time. While Ukraine maintains that it specifically targeted Ukrainians, Russia argues that the famine affected millions of people across Central Asia and Russia as well.

In 2006, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine officially declared the Holodomor an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people. The Ukrainian authorities have been striving to obtain international recognition of the Holodomor as a genocide for years, particularly in light of the ongoing conflict.

Some countries have already supported Ukraine's stance, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Mexico, Brazil, France, Iceland, and others.