The Croatian Parliament voted on Wednesday to recognize the Holodomor as genocide.
This term refers to the death of millions of people in Ukraine in the 1930s under the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin.
His regime artificially created a famine that affected the population of Soviet Ukraine, the North Caucasus, and the area around the lower Volga River between 1932 and 1933.
It is estimated that up to 9 million people died as a result of executions, deportations, and starvation during the Holodomor.
Ukraine, as the most fertile agricultural region of the Soviet Union, was the hardest hit.
With the adopted declaration, the Croatian Parliament stated that it recognizes the Holodomor as a genocide against the Ukrainian people.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Croatia for this action.
“The world will never accept the crimes of the Kremlin – neither the past nor the present,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter.
The Parliament of the Republic of Croatia has adopted the Declaration on recognition of the 1932-1933 Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people. I am grateful to the Republic of Croatia for this historic vote. The world will never put up with the crimes of the Kremlin –…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 28, 2023
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba also expressed gratitude to Croatia, stating that “the global recognition of the Holodomor genocide” continues to grow rapidly.
He added that 27 countries recognize the famine as genocide.
Today, Croatia recognized the 1932-1933 Holodomor as genocide against the Ukrainian people. I am grateful to the Croatian parliament for honoring the memory of millions of victims with this historic vote. The global recognition of the Holodomor genocide continues to grow swiftly.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) June 28, 2023
The victims of the Holodomor are commemorated in Ukraine and around the world every year on the fourth Saturday of November.
