NordenBladet —
The Ukrainian World Congress, which unites the Ukrainians in diaspora, decided to award St. Volodymyr the Great Medal to the Riigikogu for its contribution to supporting Ukraine, as well as in recognition of the Riigikogu being the first in the world to recognise the Holodomor as a genocide against the Ukrainian people. Estonia declared the great famine of 1932–1933 a genocide against the people of Ukraine in 1993.
The medal was presented today at a reception in the White Hall of Toompea Castle by Vira Konyk, Head of the Congress of Ukrainians of Estonia, who said that the St. Volodymyr the Great Medal was awarded to individuals, and awarding this medal to an official institution was one of the few exceptions in the history of the Ukrainian World Congress. “It is a token of gratitude from the global Ukrainian community for your continued and sincere support for Ukraine. It demonstrates a deep respect for the courage of the Parliament of Estonia, which was the first in the world to recognise the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people,” she said.
Accepting the medal, the President of the Riigikogu said that it was a recognition not only for the Riigikogu, but for all the people of Estonia. “We have firmly supported Ukraine in its fight against Russia, which is waging a war of aggression, and we will continue to support Ukraine until the victorious end of the war,” Hussar assured, and added that Estonia would also continue to support Ukraine on its path to the European Union and NATO.
In Estonia, the award of the Ukrainian World Congress was also presented to Tetyana Ivushkina, the founder and head of the Ukrainian Museum in Kohtla-Järve and the cultural society Dva Kolyory, and to Director of the Ukrainian Cultural Centre Bogdan Lyutyuk.
Photos (Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
+372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
karin.kangro@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee
Link uudisele: Hussar accepted the highest award of the Ukrainian World Congress on behalf of the Riigikogu
Source: Parliament of Estonia