Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 92nd anniversary of the famine genocide in Ukraine known as the Holodomor, when Joseph Stalin closed Ukraine's borders and confiscated all food to destroy a Ukrainian population opposed to his rule. At the height of the Holodomor, 19 people per minute, 1,200 per hour and 28,000 per day were dying of famine. The world was silent, and millions died as a result.
My grandmother Olena was a survivor of the Holodomor. She once told me that she hoped the victims of the Holodomor would not only be remembered, but be honoured. She said honouring them meant not just remembering them or commemorating them, but taking the steps to ensure that a crime like this never happens again.
Right now, in Russian-occupied Ukraine, it is happening again. Russia is killing civilians, deporting children and much more. The only way to stop this is for the world to provide Ukraine with the support it needs so that it can liberate all of its people and decisively win the war.
If we do this, we will truly do what my grandmother would ask us to if she were here today: remember the victims, commemorate the victims and honour the victims.
Vichna yim pamyat. Slava Ukraini.