Lutsk City Mayor participated in the solemnities dedicated to the opening of monument to victims of Holodomor in Ukraine
It is clearly symbolic that opening of the monument dedicated to millions of victims of Holodomor in Ukraine in 1932-1933 – Ukrainians, Poles and other nations, who starved of the genocide, caused by former soviet regime, coincided with the Day of Unification of Ukraine. The monument dedicated to victims of Holodomor in Lublin is already the third in Poland. The two others were opened in Warsaw on Volyn cemetery, and in Kraków.
The idea of perpetuating Holodomor victims in Poland belongs to the member of Ukrainian community “Common roots (Wspólne Korzenie)” Zbigniew Wojciechowski. Deputies of Lublin city council supported his idea, and the President of the city Krzysztof Żuk became the honorable patron of the project.
The monument was erected not far from Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration of Christ in Lublin as far as in December 2014, on the eve of the visit of the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. However, it was officially sanctified and opened exactly on the Day of Unification of Ukraine. The stone symbolizes a lump of bread that people lacked during Holodomor. Moreover, the most important peculiarity of the monument is that people have also recollected the Poles, who were also the victims of Holodomor.
It is also worth mentioning that costs for creating this symbolic monument of genocide were gathered, as it is said, by the whole world. First of all, the members of such communities as “Common Roots (Wspólne Korzenie)”, Ukrainian community in Poland, employees of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Lublin and Honorable Consulate in Chelm became the sponsors.
The solemnities were really on high level because such honorable guests as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland Andriy Deshchytsia and former Consul General in Lublin Ivan Hrytsak were present during the event.
The Mayor of Lutsk Mykola Romaniuk was also invited to participate in solemn opening of the memorial. He is well-known in Poland for his selfless efforts to recondition of historical heritage not only on Volyn. In addition, he is also highly appreciated for his support of Ukrainians on the East of Ukraine as well as reestablishment of the peace in the country. This was mentioned by the President of Lublin Krzysztof Żuk during the solemnities.
Together with the Mayor of Lutsk, the event was attended by the choir of the Volyn All Saints Cathedral “Volyn Bells”.
During his public speech, Mykola Romaniuk thanked the organizers as well as the Polish people for perpetuation of the historic remembrance that joins our nations.
In addition, in the end of his visit to Poland, Mykola Romaniuk went to the Lublin cemetery, where he laid the flowers to the graves of those who always dreamt about Unified Ukraine. It was the monument dedicated to the soldier of the army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic where the solemnities on the occasion of the Day of Unification of Ukraine took place. The requiem for the peace of Ukrainian soldiers as well as the Eucharistic prayer was held by His Eminence archbishop of Lublin and Chelm Avel.
