Unknown people disrupted a commemoration of the Holodomor victims in Greece — a Ukrainian diplomat was injured

In the Greek city of Mandra, a group of people with communist symbols attacked representatives of the Ukrainian community, who organized an event to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor.

This was reported by the priest of the Ukrainian Church Community of St. Nicholas of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Greece Ihor Posolenyk.

He said that Ukrainians — mostly women and children — gathered near the monument to Taras Shevchenko in Mandra. Then a group of people with red flags approached them. The video shows that they were shouting slogans, and explosions were also heard.

"According to the testimony of the participants, the attackers blocked access to the monument and resorted to aggressive actions. Insults and threats followed. A diplomat of the embassy suffered from violent actions," said the clergyman.

The Embassy of Ukraine in Greece reacted to the incident. They confirmed that the diplomat was injured as a result of the clash. According to the agency, the action was disrupted by members of the Communist Party of Greece.

"We call on the law enforcement agencies of Greece to quickly investigate this incident and bring the perpetrators to justice. It is extremely important to protect the right of people and communities to commemorate historical tragedies without the threat of intimidation or violence," the embassy said.

What is the Holodomor?

The Holodomor of 1932-1933 was an artificial mass famine that led to millions of human victims in the countryside on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR. Then 7 million people died of hunger. In Ukraine and the world, the Holodomor is perceived as an act of genocide of the Ukrainian people, inspired by the government of the USSR.

In 2006, Ukraine recognized the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide of the Ukrainian people.

In 2016, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appealed to democratic states to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide of the Ukrainian people.

Before the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, a number of states had already recognized the Holodomor as a genocide of Ukrainians, including Australia, Georgia, Ecuador, Estonia, Canada, Colombia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, the USA, Hungary, Portugal, and the Vatican.

In 2022-2023, the process of recognizing the Holodomor as a genocide intensified — it was recognized by the Czech Republic, Belgium, Moldova, Ireland, Germany, Bulgaria, Iceland, France, Slovenia, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Croatia, Italy, 34 US states, as well as the European Parliament and PACE.

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