In Lisbon, Ukraine’s First Lady opens memorial plaque to Holodomor victims

In Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, the spouse of the Ukrainian President, Olena Zelenska, opened a memorial plaque to the victims of the Holodomor in Ukraine in 1932-1933.

Zelenska announced this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

"Now in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon there is a memorial plaque to the victims of the Holodomor in Ukraine in 1932-1933. Today I had the honor to open it along with the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, and the Ambassador of Ukraine to Portugal, Maryna Mykhailenko," Zelenska wrote.

According to the First Lady, the Portuguese parliament back in 2017 recognized the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. And it is very important that now it also has a material manifestation that can be seen by all residents and visitors.

Zelenska emphasized that, although the two countries share no borders, they have much more in common, such as the people (Ukrainians who came there even before the Russian attack, as well as those who found shelter in Portugal after the Russian invasion). In Lisbon there is Ukraine Avenue, and in Kyiv since recently there is Portugal Street - as a sign of mutual assistance between the countries.

"But the most important thing is that we have many common values. The main one is the value of human life. Both our countries acquired it for a reason. We realized it and fought for it. Both our countries lived through a very difficult 20th century, fought against dictatorships and arbitrariness. And now Ukraine is forced to defend itself against revanchism and the encroachments of the same empire that staged the Holodomor. Even the great-grandchildren of those who survived the artificial famine have to save their lives from Russian missiles," the First Lady emphasized.

She expressed her gratitude to the City Hall of Lisbon and all of Portugal for the fact that they understand the importance of establishing justice, including historical justice, the importance of prosecuting and condemning crimes, no matter how long ago they were committed. “And our collective memory is a powerful tool to this end,” she believes.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Zelenska launched a Ukrainian bookshelf in the municipal library of the city of Estoril in Portugal.