EU parliament recognises Ukraine’s soviet-era famine as ‘genocide’

The European Parliament has decided to recognise the 1930s starvation of millions of people in Ukraine under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin a “genocide”. The decision was taken after the members voted on the resolution and it was accepted by unanimous support. The legislature “recognises the Holodomor, the artificial famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine caused by a deliberate policy of the Soviet regime, as a genocide against the Ukrainian people”.

The Ukrainian government has been requesting the international community to recognise the famine as “genocide” and the demand has grown since the start of the Ukraine-Russia war.

In the aftermath of the vote, the European Union legislators urged “all the countries and international organisations which have not yet recognised the Holodomor as a genocide to do so”.

The legislators also said that this was just a first step in making sure that “the current Russian regime’s manipulation of historical memory for the purpose of regime survival”.

“Holodomor” — Ukrainian for “death by starvation” – has been a major point of contention between Russia and Ukraine with historians condemning it as a Russian act of genocide. However, Russia has denied it completely and President Vladimir Putin is likely to not take the legislation kindly.

The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has seen the European Union taking the side of the Volodymyr Zelensky-led government. This move was also seen as a show of support from the western countries who have already imposed sanctions on Moscow and have severed most ties.