MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ukraine remembers the millions condemned to starvation in 1932/33 by Russia's Joseph Stalin

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ordered the seizure of all grain and livestock from the newly Ukraine collectivized farms to counter rejection to the Moscow decision.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky remembered the victims of the 1932-1933 famine, or Holodomor (death by starvation in Ukrainian) when Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ordered the seizure of all grain and livestock from the newly Ukraine collectivized farms to counter rejection to the Moscow decision.

Millions died starved to death by Holodomor, which is at the heart of Ukrainian people rejection of the Soviet regime.

“Ukrainians went through very terrible things,” Zelenskyy said in a video posted on social media. “Once they wanted to destroy us with hunger, famine, now — with darkness and cold,” he added. “We cannot be broken,” Zelenskyy noted.

The leaders of Germany, Poland, Belgium and Lithuania also traveled to Ukraine to mark the anniversary and renew their pledges of support amid power cuts across the country.

On Twitter, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry compared Ukraine's history with the current situation.

“Anyone can see the terror that Russia is inflicting on the Ukrainian people,” the Defense Ministry wrote, adding, “This time, the theft and destruction of grain is causing famine outside of Ukraine's borders, in some of the world's poorest countries.”

The Ukrainian government announced the creation of an international food aid program to provide grain and oilseed deliveries to the poorest countries, acting as guarantor of world food security.

Under the “Grain from Ukraine” program, 60 ships will be dispatched from Ukraine's Black Sea ports to deliver food to countries in dire need of grain deliveries, such as Yemen, Sudan or Somalia. The shipments are expected to be completed by the middle of next year.

“Ukraine has always been and will remain the guarantor of world food security, and even in such harsh conditions of war, the Ukrainian leadership works for the sake of global stability,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Countries including Germany and Belgium anticipated they will help finance the deliveries. “This initiative allows us to prevent possible problems with food supply in certain African countries,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said, speaking alongside Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

In addition to benefiting the Ukraine's economy, the program seeks to garner support from Asian and African countries, which have been hit hardest by the global food crisis and targeted by Russian disinformation campaigns to deflect attention from Moscow's aggression against Ukraine.

During the remembrance ceremony for the millions starved to death under Holodomor, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged an additional €10 million in support to help accelerate grain shipments from Ukraine. Speaking at the 90th anniversary ceremony, Scholz said “hunger must never again be used as a weapon.''

”We cannot tolerate what we are witnessing: The worst global food crisis in years with abhorrent consequences for millions of people, from Afghanistan to Madagascar, from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa,'' Scholz said.

Meanwhile In the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, several quarters of the city are still without electricity following a wave of Russian airstrikes targeting critical infrastructure. Kyiv's military administration said it expects the final repairs will be completed within the next 48 hours and heating systems in the city of 3 million should then work again.

The city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, urged calm and warned the electricity cuts could spark political unrest.

“We must continue to work together to defend the country and protect the infrastructure,” he said, adding that a solution was being sought at “record speed.”

During a barrage of attacks by Russian forces, power, water and heating failed in Kyiv and many other parts of the country — which is facing frigid temperatures as winter gets underway.