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President, Honourable Members of the European Parliament,  

The Great Famine of 1932-1933, the Holodomor, is one of the major tragedies of the twentieth century, which took the lives of so many Ukrainians and other persons across the Soviet Union.  

This was highlighted on 26 November, at the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor honouring the memory of Ukraine's victims.  

90 years after the Holodomor, Russia is again using food as a weapon in the brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, through destroying Ukraine’s agricultural production, mining its fields and blocking its ports. 

Today the European Union stands together with Ukraine in the pursuit to help avert hunger across the world. We support Ukraine’s newly launched initiative Grains from Ukraine, which testifies to our joint solidarity with the global efforts to fight hunger caused by Russia's war of aggression.  

Our EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes continue to be essential corridors for Ukraine’s agricultural and other exports and imports, bringing income to Ukraine and its economy. We strongly support the UN-backed Black Sea Grain deal. Together with our Solidarity Lanes, they allowed to export more than 30 million tons of grains and other food stuff.   

With hindsight, we can draw also more positive lessons from Holodomor. It reminds us that such a tragedy can only be possible in a world in which respect for human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles is absent. The European Union itself was built out of the ashes of war and different experiences of totalitarianism and yet these same tragedies have shaped and driven the extraordinary achievements of a united Europe over the past 60 years. 

Today, Ukraine is transformed as well. As an independent state, as a member of the Council of Europe and signatory of the European Convention of Human Rights and a number of other international human rights instruments.  

While our immediate goal is to help Ukraine win the war, we will support Ukraine to also win the peace, to become a modern democratic state. In this regard, Ukraine’s European Union candidate status is an opportunity. Progress on key reforms could serve a double purpose: strengthen Ukraine’s resilience and also help it advance on its European path as a modern democracy, matching thus the will of the Ukrainian people.  

Thank you. 

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-234798 

Closing remarks  

President, Honourable Members [of the European Parliament], 

The debate today testifies to our continued engagement to keep alive the sad memory of Holodomor. The innocent lives it claimed are not forgotten. It is vital that we prevent such tragedies from happening again.  

Let me stress once again that the European Union will continue to act and prevent efforts to use hunger as a weapon. The European Union remains an active and responsible actor. We stand in solidarity with Ukraine and with the global efforts to fight hunger caused by Russia's war of aggression. And we should also be firm in fighting Russia’s lies that the European Union is responsible for the rise in the food prices. 

Thank you. 

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-234800