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Aryna Sabalenka’s Australian Open trophy has Belarus missing from engraving

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Aryna Sabalenka was finally able to capture her first championship at the Australian Open after defeating Elena Rybakina in three sets on Saturday.

Following the traditional trophy presentation and photoshoot inside Rod Laver Arena, Sabalenka finally caught a good look at the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, the Women’s Singles Champion trophy.

“‘Oh my god, I already have my name!” Sabalenka exclaimed to Nine’s World Wide of Sports. “Wow. This is just actually unbelievable. It’s all the stars. All those names.”

As the new champion continued to look at her prize, television cameras zoomed in on the trophy to show Sabalenka’s name next to winners of year’s past.

However, unlike the traditional format, Sabalenka’s name was engraved without her home country Belarus listed while the year’s previous two winners Naomi Osaka and Ash Barty has abbreviations for Japan and Australia respectively.

Sabalenka’s name is engraved in the trophy without her home country of Belarus.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022, The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) have barred Russian and Belarusian players from competing in sanctioned events unless they play under a neutral flag.

Although Belarus is not directly involved with the war in Ukraine, its support of Russia made the ATP and WTA introduce the decision in March 2022 to bar players from playing underneath the two flags.

Throughout this year’s Australian Open, Sabalenka played with a white flag next to her name instead of Belarus’ red, green, and white flag, while all her opponents played with their national flags next to their names.

“I think everyone still knows that I’m Belarusian player. That’s it,” Sabalenka said after the win.

Wimbledon banned all Belarusian and Russian players from competing at last year’s tournament. Sabalenka was among the delegation that was not invited to London which included former world number one Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, Victoria Azarenka, and Daria Kasatkina.

Sabalenka became just the second Belarusian woman to win a Grand Slam title, following Victoria Azarenka‘s back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2012 and 2013.

She also became the first singles player from Russia or Belarus to win a Grand Slam since Maria Sharapova did so at the French Open in 2014.



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Ukraine corruption scandal: US promises ‘rigorous monitoring’ of aid

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The United States vowed to tightly monitor how Ukraine spends billions of dollars of aid on Tuesday, following a damaging corruption scandal that led to a string of resignations in Kyiv. 

While Washington said it had no evidence western funds were being misused, US State Department Spokesman Ned Price promised there would be “rigorous monitoring” to ensure American assistance was not diverted. 

Several senior Ukrainian officials were dismissed on Tuesday, in the wake of a corruption scandal surrounding illicit payments to deputy ministers and over-inflated military contracts. 

A total of five regional governors, four deputy ministers and two heads of a government agency left their posts, alongside the deputy head of the presidential administration and the deputy attorney general.

In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the purge was “necessary” to maintain “a strong state”, while Price hailed it as “quick” and “essential”. 

Still, the scandal comes at a sensitive time for Kyiv, as it asks for ever-increasing amounts of support from the West and faces down Russian advances in the east. 

Corruption could dampen Western enthusiasm for the Ukrainian government, which has a long history of shaky governance. 

Over the weekend, anti-corruption police arrested the deputy infrastructure minister on suspicion of receiving a 367,000 euro bribe to buy overpriced generators, an allegation he denies. 

This comes at a time when Ukrainian civilians are enduring prolonged power cuts, amid crippling Russian strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure. 

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian newspaper investigation accused the Defence Ministry of signing off contracts to supply food to frontline troops at “two to three” times the regular price. 

According to analysts, the high-profile resignations show that corruption bears not only a criminal but also political responsibility.

“It is a good example of how institutions and anti-corruption and checks and balances mechanisms established after the [2014 Maidan] Revolution of Dignity are working despite a full-blown war going on,” Kateryna Ryzhenko from Transparency International Ukraine, an anti-corruption NGO, told Euronews.

“But the final part of these events should be played by the prosecution, investigative body, and the court when these cases are adjudicated to the full extent of the law,” she added.

Ukraine’s Defence Ministry, which allegedly signed off on overpriced contracts worth €320 million, said the resignations would help “preserve the confidence of society and international partners.” 

On Sunday, it dismissed the allegations as “misinformation”, warning they harmed the “interests of defence during a special period”.

In January, the leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic blasted Western aid to Ukraine as a “scheme for laundering money”. 

“I see that some are worried about the foreign aid to Ukraine. Do not worry! This is a working money laundering scheme. Western and Ukrainian officials will embezzle these funds, and no more than 15% of the entire aid will reach the trenches,” Ramzan Kadyrov wrote on Telegram.

There is no evidence for this claim from the staunch Putin ally.

Zelenskyy was elected in 2019 on the promise of wide-reaching reforms to battle corruption and improve the economy.

During his time in office, the Ukrainian president sacked numerous ministers and officials as he battled to fight the malign influence of powerful people in the country.

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Why does mystery blonde keep popping up in Putin photo ops?

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A female “soldier” honored by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his New Year’s message has popped up in photos with the leader before — as an ice-cream vendor, an angler and a Christmastime parishioner.

The blonde, who was clad in fatigues and feted with other reputed soldiers in the dictator’s holiday broadcast, is a regular fixture at Putin’s public appearances, Sibir.Realii, a media outlet tied to Radio Liberty, reported on the messaging app Telegram.

“In September 2016, the president was photographed on a lake in the Novgorod region with fishermen – she was among them,” Sibir.Realii posted.

She was identified as Larisa Sergukhina at the time.

The woman also was among the group of parishioners around Putin in 2017 at an Eastern Orthodox Christmas service in a Novgorod monastery and referred to as Sergukhina, the outlet said.

Vladimir Putin honors a woman identified as Capt. Anna Sidorenko on New Year’s Eve.
kremlin.ru/e2w

At least two of the “anglers” previously with the woman were also depicted as “parishioners” at the service, photos show — leading some observers to speculate they are all actors used for cringe-worthy staged photo ops with Putin or else a poor attempt to disguise his security detail.

The woman was also seen on two other occasions — in 2017 and 2019 — “selling” ice cream to Putin at a Moscow air show.

As the British tabloid The Sun reported in 2019, Putin overpaid for his ice cream by more than 4,000 rubles — roughly $60 — and told the blonde to give the change to the air minister for the “development of aviation.”

At the time, Kremlin watchers opined that the woman was likely a member of Putin’s protective service, working under cover to help the Russian president appear to be mingling with average Russians.

At this year’s New Year’s broadcast, the woman was identified as a Russian army medic, Anna Sidorenko. She stood behind Putin with her supposed comrades in combat fatigues during a message about the war in Ukraine.

A blonde identified as Larisa Sergukhina (second from left) at the time listens during 2017 meeting with Vladimir Putin in the Novgorod region.
Kremlin/e2w

In the speech, Putin vowed to defend Russia’s “historical territory” — a reference to his assertion that Ukraine is not an independent nation.

Putin also blamed the war on Ukraine’s Western allies.

The woman was identified as Larisa Sergukhina in this photo with Vladimir Putin during a 2017 church service in the Novgorod region.
Kremlin/e2w

“The West lied about peace,” he said. “It was preparing for aggression. … And now they are cynically using Ukraine and its people to weaken and split Russia.”

Putin has regularly pushed the theory that NATO and the European Union sought to threaten Russia by supporting Ukrainian moves to join the European community.

Despite a year of unexpected failures by Russian troops — and a bloody stalemate along the front lines in eastern Ukraine — Putin’s predictions were optimistic.

“Together, we will overcome all difficulties and preserve our country’s greatness and independence,” he said.

“We will triumph, for our families and for Russia.”

With Post wires

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Kyiv Rocked By Explosions Amid Russia’s New Year Attacks

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A fresh round of explosions rocked Kyiv less than an hour into 2023, after Russia had attacked Ukraine with missiles targeting the capital and other cities ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations. 

The first blasts of the new year began roughly 30 minutes after midnight, hitting two districts, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, adding there were no immediate reports of casualties. 

Earlier in the evening, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainians would fight until victorious. 

“We fight and will continue to fight. For the sake of the main word: ‘victory’,” he said in an address, as his country saw the old year out hours after the new wave of strikes. 

“I want to say to all of you: Ukrainians, you are incredible! See what we have done and what we are doing!” Zelensky said in the emotional speech.

“We fight as one team — the whole country, all our regions. I admire you all. I want to thank every invincible region of Ukraine,” he continued. 

As Russian regions in the Far East rang in 2023, Russian leader Vladimir Putin delivered his midnight address — usually set against the backdrop of the Kremlin — standing among servicemen and women who fought in Ukraine.

He told them that “historical rightness” was on their side.

At around the same time, explosions shook the Ukrainian capital where AFP journalists heard at least 11 loud blasts in the early afternoon.

Klitschko said on social media that at least one person died as a result of the attacks on Saturday while city authorities said 22 others were injured.

One explosion tore open one corner of the four-star Hotel Alfavito in Kyiv, spilling rubble into the street, an AFP reporter saw.

Nearby sidewalks were covered in glass from blown-out windows in the area, including from Kyiv’s National Palace of Arts.

Filmmaker Yaroslav Mutenko, 23, lives in a nearby apartment complex and said he was in the shower preparing to go to a New Year’s Eve party when he heard a boom. 

He said there had been similar explosions in the area during a previous attack in October, but nothing as loud as Saturday’s explosion.

As he watched rescue workers cordon off the street in front of the hotel, he told AFP he still planned to go to the party at a friend’s house. 

“Our enemies the Russians can destroy our calm but they cannot destroy our spirit,” he said.

“Why do I go celebrate with friends? Because this year I understand that it is important to have people near.”

The attacks come as Putin’s invasion of Ukraine enters its 11th month, with Russian strikes systematically targeting energy infrastructure, leaving millions in the cold and dark in the middle of winter.

Strikes were also reported in the southern city of Mykolaiv where a local official said seven people were injured.

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkievych had said earlier that a fire broke out in one of the city’s districts and several residential buildings sustained damage as a result of the strikes.

As Ukraine continues to rely on military support and aid from Europe and the U.S. to repel Russia’s attacks, French president Emmanuel Macron promised Saturday to help Ukrainians “without fail… until victory.”

Putin celebrates New Year

  • In Ukraine’s west, at least four people were wounded in the Khmelnytskyi region, Governor Serhiy Gamaliy said, adding that part of the city of Khmelnytskyi was left without power.

Ukraine’s chief of general staff Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Russia launched 20 cruise missiles on Saturday, with 12 shot down. 

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin delivered his New Year’s speech from the headquarters of Russia’s southern military district, where he was on a visit earlier on Saturday and presented awards to servicemen.

Among the recipients of the awards was Russia’s commander in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, Russian news agencies said.

Footage released by Russian state TV showed Putin raising a glass of champagne with soldiers dressed in military uniform, some with awards pinned to their chest.

In his traditional New Year’s Eve address, broadcast by channels just before midnight, Putin told Russians that “moral, historical rightness is on our side.”

Putin said that this year was marked by “truly pivotal, fateful events” which became “the frontier that lays the foundation for our common future, for our true independence.”

“Today we are fighting for this, protecting our people in our own historical territories, in the new constituent entities of the Russian Federation,” he added, referring to four Ukrainian regions that Russia claimed to have annexed.

Earlier in the day, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a message to his servicemen that Russia’s victory in Ukraine was “inevitable.”

The Defense Ministry also announced the capture of the village of Dorozhnyanka in the southern Zaporizhzhia region — a rare gain claimed as Russia suffered a string of defeats on the ground in Ukraine.

The ministry also said that 82 Russian servicemen were freed as part of a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, while Kyiv said that it returned 140 people. 

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Putin being kept alive with Western cancer drugs to continue waging Ukraine war

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President Vladimir Putin is reportedly being treated for cancer with Western medicine as he enters what could be his last year at the helm of Russia.

Amid a slew of sanctions imposed on Putin, the Kremlin and his regime, the 70-year-old leader is allegedly being kept alive by Western treatments to slow the cancer’s spread, according to Russian historian and political analyst Valery Solovey.

“I can say that without this [foreign] treatment he would definitely not have been in public life in the Russian Federation,” Solovey told Ukrainian media.

“He uses the most advanced treatments, [and] target therapy which Russia cannot provide him with,” Solovey said.

Solovey tells Ukrainian YouTube channel Odesa Film Studio that he’s “certain” Putin is getting specialized therapy that’s unavailable in Russia.

“I would say that the treatment has been too successful,” Solovey added. “They have been treating him too well.”

Even with help from Western medicine, Solovey claimed “the end is already in sight, even according to the doctors who are curating this treatment, because no medication can be endlessly successful.”

Since Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February, rumors about Putin’s allegedly degrading health have been widespread. It’s believed Putin is battling both pancreatic cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

Rumors of the Russian leader’s health being in serious decline have only increased as the war enters its 10th month.
AP
As it’s war with Ukraine wages on, Russia has denied Putin is suffering any illness.
AFP via Getty Images

“I can confirm he has been diagnosed with early stage Parkinson’s disease, but it’s already progressing,” a security services insider reportedly claimed in a leak of emails about the Russian strongman’s deteriorating condition.

“This fact will be denied in every possible way and hidden,” the source reportedly added.

The Kremlin has denied the Russian leader, who likes to project an image of strength, suffers from any sort of illnesses.

Earlier this month, the Russian strongman apparently fell down five steps at his home, landed on his tailbone and soiled himself. Even though his security team rushed to his side, the harsh fall caused him to “involuntarily defecate” according to reports, which the Kremlin later denied.

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Iran threatens Zelensky after he accused Tehran of giving weapons to Russia

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The Iranian regime issued a threatening statement a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Tehran of supplying Russia with hundreds of deadly drones for use on the battlefield in Ukraine. 

Zelensky made the claim during his speech to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday. An Iranian official denied the accusation on Thursday and warned that the regime’s “patience” for such allegations isn’t “endless.” 

“Mr. Zelensky had better know that Iran’s strategic patience over such unfounded accusations is not endless,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a message posted to the ministry’s website. 

Kanaani added that Zelensky should “draw a lesson from the fate of some other political leaders who contented themselves with the US support.”

Iran threatened Ukraine a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to Congress.
ZUMAPRESS.com
Zelensky accused Tehran of supplying Russia with hundreds of deadly drones for use on the battlefield in Ukraine. 
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In October, the White House accused Iran of selling Russia about 1,000 kamikaze drones.
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The Ukrainian president accused Russia on Wednesday of finding a “genocidal” ally in Iran as the former Soviet state continues its airstrikes against Ukrainian infrastructure.  

“When Russia cannot reach our cities by its artillery, it tries to destroy them with missile attacks,” Zelensky told congressional lawmakers during a pitch for more US aid for the Ukrainian war effort. “More than that, Russia found an ally in its genocidal policy — Iran.”

“Iranian deadly drones, sent to Russia in hundreds, became a threat to our critical infrastructure,” he added. “That is how one terrorist has found the other. It is just a matter of time — when they will strike against your other allies, if we do not stop them now.”

In October, the White House accused Iran of selling Russia about 1,000 Shahed-136 kamikaze drones at the end of August, dozens of which have been deployed across Ukraine, according to US officials.

“We can confirm that Russia’s military personnel that are based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian [drones,] using them to conduct strikes across Ukraine, including strikes against Kyiv,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “In just recent days, we assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations.”

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Ukraine Says Russia Preparing 200,000 Fresh Troops To Attack On Kyiv

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The Russians are preparing some 200,000 fresh troops, the Ukrainian General said.

Kyiv:

The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces expects a new Russian attack on Kyiv in the early months of 2023, according to an interview with The Economist released Thursday.

Much of the fighting has been concentrated in the east and south recently but General Valeriy Zaluzhny told the British weekly the capital would be targeted again.

A “very important strategic task is to create reserves and prepare for the war which may take place in February, at best in March, and at worst at the end of January,” he said in a December 3 interview released on Thursday.

“The Russians are preparing some 200,000 fresh troops. I have no doubt they will have another go at Kyiv,” he said in the interview.

“We have made all the calculations — how many tanks, artillery we need and so on and so on.”

At the end of February, Moscow sent its forces into Ukraine with the aim of swiftly capturing Kyiv.

In a victory for the Ukrainian army, the invaders were held up several dozen kilometres from the capital before pulling back from the region at the end of March and early April.

The general said among his current problems was “to hold this (front)line”, which runs south to east, “and not lose any more ground” after pushing back the Russians from the Kharkiv region in the northeast in September and Kherson in the south last month.

For Zaluzhny, the Russians have bombarded energy infrastructure since October following a series of humiliating battlefield reverses because “they need time to gather resources” for a broad offensive in the coming months.

“I am not an energy expert but it seems to me we are on the edge,” he said, stating that the destruction of the power grid was “possible” by missile and drone strikes.

The waves of attacks on the power network that have already taken place have caused massive power outages across the country, leaving millions of Ukrainians in the bitter cold and dark of winter.

“I know that I can beat this enemy,” the general continued. “But I need resources.

“I need 300 tanks, 600-700 ifvs (infantry fighting vehicles) 500 Howitzers.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Ukraine Secures 1Bln Euros in Aid ‘To Get Through Winter’

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Ukraine’s Western allies pledged an additional one billion euros ($1.1 billion) in emergency winter aid on Tuesday, responding to pleas from President Volodymyr Zelensky to help the country withstand Russia’s onslaught against its energy grid.

Around 70 countries and international organizations gathered in Paris for a meeting aimed at enabling Ukrainians “to get through this winter,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.

In a video message, Zelensky said Ukraine needed assistance worth around 800 million euros in the short term for its battered energy sector.

“Of course it is a very high amount, but the cost is less than the cost of a potential blackout,” Zelensky told the conference via video link.

Pledges for the energy sector comprised 400 million euros of the funds raised on Tuesday, France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said. 

Ukraine needs spare parts for repairs, high-capacity generators, extra gas as well as increased electricity imports, Zelensky said.

“Generators have become as necessary as armored vehicles and bullet-proof jackets,” he said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said 40 to 50% of the country’s grid was out of action because of Russia’s strikes.

Many areas of the country have power for only a few hours a day.

Another 1.5 million people were left without power in southern Odesa over the weekend after Russian drone attacks. 

“They want to put us into darkness and it will fail, thanks to our partners all over the world,” Shmygal told delegates.

Bridge attack

On the battlefield Tuesday, local authorities in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol said pro-Kyiv forces had used explosives to damage a strategic bridge.

Melitopol is an important transport hub for Russian forces in the region of Zaporizhzhia and is key for Ukraine’s hopes of liberating the south of the country.

The bridge in the eastern suburbs “was damaged by terrorists,” Vladimir Rogov, a Moscow-installed regional official, said on the Telegram messaging app.

He did not specify the extent of the damage, but images on his social media accounts showed that a middle section of the bridge had collapsed.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Belarus held a surprise inspection of its armed forces, raising fears of a possible escalation in the conflict.

Belarus is a close ally of Moscow, but Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly said he does not plan to send Belarusian troops to Ukraine.

Ukrainian PM Shmyhal also said Tuesday that the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA had agreed to dispatch permanent teams to monitor the country’s nuclear plants.

They are expected to take up positions in the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia plant, a hotspot of fighting, which has been a source of global concern in recent months.

A deal to de-militarize the site, which would see both sides withdraw forces, has proved impossible so far despite international diplomatic efforts.

‘War crimes’

Tuesday’s conference in Paris, titled “Standing with the Ukraine People,” also saw the launch of a new so-called Paris Mechanism to coordinate civilian aid to Ukraine.

The digital platform, announced by G7 leaders on Monday, will enable Ukraine to list its requirements and allow international donors to coordinate their responses in real time.

“A large number of countries will use this mechanism — all the members to the European Union, but it will go beyond to other partners, including non-European partners,” Colonna told reporters.

A similar platform exists for military aid, which is coordinated via meetings of Ukraine’s Western allies at the U.S.-run Ramstein military base in Germany.

Macron hosted Tuesday’s conference alongside Zelensky’s wife Olena, giving the French leader an opportunity to reaffirm his support for Kyiv.

He condemned Russia’s “cynical” and “cowardly” attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. 

“These strikes… which Russia openly admits are designed to break the resistance of the Ukrainian people, are war crimes,” Macron said in his opening address.

“They violate without any doubt the most basic principles of humanitarian law,” he said. 

“These acts are intolerable and will not go unpunished.”

The French president has riled some of his allies in Kyiv in the past, most notably in June when he said “we must not humiliate Russia.”

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Putin fell down stairs, soiled himself amid health woes: report

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Russian President Vladimir Putin fell down the stairs and soiled himself this week amid mounting speculation that his health is declining, an anti-Kremlin Telegram channel with apparent links to his security team reported.

Putin, 70, suffered the unfortunate fall at his Moscow official residence on Wednesday evening, according to the Telegram channel “General SVR,” which purports to be run by a former Russian spy.

The ailing Russian leader allegedly fell down five steps before landing on his coccyx, or tailbone. 

Although his security guards immediately rushed to his aid, the impact of the fall caused Putin to “involuntarily defecate” due to “cancer affecting his stomach and bowels,” according to the channel.   

The incident is the latest health scare for Putin, who is rumored to suffering from worsening cancer and Parkinson’s disease amid the ongoing war with Ukraine.

Putin is rumored to be suffering from cancer.
MIKHAIL METZEL/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN P

“Three bodyguards helped the president get to the nearest couch and summoned medics, who are on duty at the residence,” General SVR said.

“Nothing critical [was diagnosed], the president’s condition closer to nighttime was stable, he can get around on his own, with pain in the coccyx area while sitting being the only thing that bothers him.”

The post noted that a special investigation was being carried out to determine the cause of the president’s fall.

Putin mysteriously gripping the desk during a meeting.
Kremlin

The famously-paranoid Russian leader reportedly wears slip-proof shoes, and stairs in the official residence had been deemed safe.

“As it turns out, all precautions could be in vain when the nerves are shot,” the message concluded. 

Putin appeared to shake off the injury, and less than one day later was pictured touring a lab in Moscow.

Some viewers noticed IV marks on his hands in October.

Rumors about Putin’s alleged health woes have been rampant since the war with Ukraine began in February. On several occasions, the former KGB strongman has appeared weak and unsteady while in public. 

In late October, Kyiv Post journalist Jason Jay Smart tweeted screenshots of Putin greeting soldiers at a boot camp in the Ryazan region, prompting speculation that the president had IV tracks on his hands.

A few weeks earlier, General SVR called out Putin’s shaky stance during a meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

“Putin’s oncology is progressing and, despite adequate treatment lately, the pain is not always completely relieved,” the channel claimed.

“It must be understood that the deplorable state of the president’s physical and mental health affects the adoption of key decisions. Putin doesn’t want to change history, he wants to end it.”          

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90 Years On, Ukrainians See Repeat of Soviet ‘Genocide’

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Ninety years ago, millions perished in Ukraine in a manmade famine under Joseph Stalin that many in the country call genocide. For Ganna Pertchuk, the current Russian invasion is a case of history repeating itself.

At the tall candle-shaped Holodomor (Ukrainian for death by starvation) memorial center in central Kyiv, a dozen Orthodox priests in black and silver robes gathered Saturday for a religious ceremony for the victims of the famine.

The event was held outdoors despite sub-zero temperatures.

Before starting the ceremony, Archbishop Filaret, 93, laid a wreath of red carnations at the monument with a statue of an emaciated girl clutching some stalks of wheat against her chest.

“We pray for those who perished in the famine,” he said.

“The Holodomor was not a result of a bad harvest but the targeted extermination of the Ukrainian people,” he said.

“What happened in the 1930s was genocide and what is happening now is also genocide,” said Pertchuk, a pensioner, who attended the ceremony

“The parallels are very clear.”

Ukraine is known as the breadbasket of Europe for its abundant wheat crops, a product of its rich, black soil. But under Soviet rule it lost between 4 and 8 million citizens during the 1932-1933 famine. Some researchers put the figure even higher.

While some historians argue the famine was planned and exacerbated by Stalin to quash an independence movement, others suggest it was a result of rapid Soviet industrialization and the collectivization of agriculture.

Ukraine officially considers it a “genocide” along with a number of Western countries, a label that Moscow vehemently rejects.

‘Victory of Good over Evil’ 

Pertchuk, like many Ukrainians has heard horror stories from family members.

Her mother-in-law, remembered as a young girl hiding with her family in a village near Kyiv so “that she wasn’t eaten up,” Pertchuk said, speaking of a famine that fueled rare cases of cannibalism.

“Imagine the horror,” said the 61-year-old former nurse, with tears in her eyes.

She said she was “praying for our victory which will be a victory of Good over Evil.”

“It was an artificial genocidal famine…,” priest Oleksandr Shmurygin, 38, told AFP. “Now when we experience this massive unprovoked war of Russia against Ukraine, we see history repeating itself.” 

Among those gathered to commemorate the victims of the famine was lawyer Andryi Savchuk, who spoke of its “irreparable” loss for Ukraine.

“Stalin’s system, the repressive state, wanted to destroy Ukraine as a nation,” he said. “Today we see that the efforts made by Stalin are continued by [President Vladimir] Putin.

“At that time, they wanted to exterminate Ukrainians through famine,” he added.

“Today, they are exterminating us with heavy weapons,” and bombing energy installations to deprive citizens of electricity, heating and water just as the punishing winter sets in.

But just as Ukrainians hold on in the 1930s, so they would against Moscow today, said Savchuk.

“We have an unyielding will and confidence. And the whole world is with us.”

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