Every year on September 29, Ukrainians mournfully remember the tragic pages of their history. Over the course of just two days — September 29 and 30, 1941 — the Nazis shot more than 30,000 Jews in Kyiv. It is important to understand that this was one of the largest punitive actions of World War II.
Points of attention
- Ukraine continues to document Russian war crimes and hold perpetrators accountable, ensuring that the victims of Babyn Yar and other atrocities are properly commemorated.
- The legacy of Babyn Yar serves as a reminder of the importance of honoring the victims of genocide and standing against oppression and injustice.
Babyn Yar: what cannot be forgotten and forgiven
What is important to understand is that Babyn Yar is a place of remembrance and necropolis for about 100,000 civilians and prisoners of war who were killed by the Nazis in 1941–1943.
Among the victims of the Third Reich: Jews and Roma, Red Army soldiers, communists, underground members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, prisoners of the Syretsk concentration camp, "saboteurs", curfew violators, patients of the Pavlov psychiatric hospital.
Even after the end of World War II, the Soviet authorities for a long time silenced and distorted the memory of the victims of Babyn Yar.
Moreover, the Soviets tried to destroy Babyn Yar itself and the surrounding cemeteries.
One totalitarian regime covered up the atrocities of another, downplaying the scale of the tragedy and depriving the victims of proper commemoration.
Over the past 11 years, Ukraine has once again faced a misanthropic regime, this time under Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
We are talking about daily attacks on the civilian population, torture and illegal arrests of citizens in the occupied territories, and the abduction of Ukrainian children.
The Ukrainian authorities are documenting Russian war crimes, collecting evidence, and transferring it to national and international justice mechanisms.
Every war criminal will be held accountable for his actions. Eternal memory to all victims of the Holocaust — the genocide of the Jewish people, as well as to all who died in Babyn Yar at the hands of the Nazis.
