Today at 4 p.m., Ukrainians across the country and around the world will light candles in their windows to honor the victims of the Holodomor — one of the most horrific crimes against humanity of the 20th century. These flames of remembrance symbolize millions of silenced lives and send a clear message: Ukraine has not forgotten the genocide committed by the Soviet regime, and it will never forgive Moscow for this historical atrocity.
Ukrainians know how and why millions of their ancestors were deliberately starved to death. Millions more were never born. Today, as Russia once again wages war against Ukraine, bringing death and destruction, the nation emphasizes the importance of unity — both in defending the country and in preserving its historical memory.
Eternal memory to all victims of the genocidal famines.
At 4:00 p.m., no matter where people are — in Ukraine or abroad — they are called to light a candle in remembrance of the children, women, and men murdered by artificially engineered starvation.
Ukraine defended itself in the past, it defends itself today, and it will continue defending its home in the future — because this land is its only home. And in this home, Russia will never be the master.
As the nation mourns, it also reminds the world that the Holodomor was a planned genocide, carried out by the totalitarian Soviet regime. Entire villages were exterminated. At the peak of the Holodomor, 25,000 people in Ukraine died every single day from forced starvation.
Today, Russia continues the same violent imperial policy. It again uses hunger as a weapon — mining fields, destroying grain storage facilities, attacking grain vessels, and targeting civilians with missiles. It wipes out cities, bombs homes, hospitals, and schools. Torture, murder, genocide — this is the true face of Russia’s aggression.
Yet Ukraine stands. It fights — for its future, for its past, for its right to exist. And it will prevail.
Memory is also a weapon. It prevents the world from forgetting the nature of this ongoing threat.
Ukraine expresses gratitude to all nations that have recognized the Holodomor as genocide. The international community must not repeat the mistakes of the past — it must act now to stop Russia’s crimes.
The country calls on people everywhere to remember each grain of truth and carry this memory through generations. Light a candle in honor of the millions of Ukrainians killed by famine.
