Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday praised the German parliament for passing a resolution that recognized the starvation deaths of millions of Ukrainians in 1932-33 as genocide.
Three parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition voted in favor earlier in the day in the Bundestag, German media reported.
In November 1932, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ordered the police to confiscate all grain and livestock from newly collectivized Ukrainian farms, including the seeds needed to plant the next crop.
In the following months, millions of Ukrainian peasants died of hunger.
“This is a decision for justice, for the truth. And this is a very important signal for many other countries of the world that Russian revanchism will not be able to rewrite history,” said Zelensky in his evening address.
Among the countries that have already recognized the Holodomor as genocide are Romania, Ireland and Moldova.
Ukraine on Saturday accused the Kremlin of reviving Stalin’s “genocidal” tactics.
Moscow denies that the deaths were caused by a deliberate policy of genocide, and says that Russians and other ethnic groups have also suffered from the famine.
Zelensky, who is pushing for Germany to provide more weapons to defend against a Russian invasion that began in February, said future generations of Ukrainians would thank Scholz if Berlin agreed to supply American Patriot missile defense systems.
Germany says it is discussing the request with its allies.
