Leaders Emphasize Truth, Memory, and Parallels to Today. During the commemoration, speakers reflected on the intentional nature of the Holodomor, its devastating human cost, and the urgent relevance of its lessons in light of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
Metropolitan Anthony stated, “We gather in reverent silence and sacred memory to honor the millions of innocent souls who perished during the Holodomor of 1932–1933 — one of the most horrific crimes against humanity of the 20th century.” He emphasized that the famine was deliberate, “The Holodomor was a state-engineered act imposed by Stalin’s totalitarian regime, designed to break the Ukrainian village, destroy the Ukrainian family, and crush the Ukrainian spirit.” He noted that one-third of the victims were children.
UCCA President Michael Sawkiw underscored the intentionality of the crime, “The Holodomor was not a side effect of Soviet policy. The Holodomor was the policy — a genocide deliberately engineered to break the will of the Ukrainian people who refused to surrender their identity, their freedom, and their dignity.”
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer highlighted the consequences of global silence, “This annual commemoration is so important because it reminds us of the immense toll caused by moral equivocation. The legacy of the Holodomor echoes directly with the challenges we face today.” He added, “We cannot and should not reward Putin’s blatant criminality that has killed so many.”
Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States, Olga Stefanishyna, stated, “It was a deliberate crime engineered by Stalin’s barbaric regime in an attempt to break our spirit and identity. It didn’t work. The Holodomor is not simply a page in a book — it is a living memory and a wound that never heals.”
Andriy Melnyk, Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, reflected on the spiritual reality of suffering, “The Holy Bible does not avert its gaze from cruelty, from slaughter, from the unspeakable sufferings that befall God’s children. Among its most harrowing pages are those that speak of famine — famine that once stalked the Holy Land, stripping life of dignity.”
Bishop Paul Chomnycky addressed the connection between past and present, “A new genocide is being inflicted upon the Ukrainian nation ninety years after the last. And it is always the children — the most innocent — who suffer the most.”
In conclusion, Bishop Paul expressed gratitude to His Eminence Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Very Rev. Enrique Salvo, Rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, for welcoming the Ukrainian community and offering a sacred gathering place for this annual remembrance.
