During the official visit, the President of Latvia will meet with President of Ukraine Mr Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister of Ukraine Mr Volodymyr Groysman, and he will attend the commemorative events on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of Holodomor by condemning the repression of the Stalinist Soviets against the Ukrainian people.
On Saturday, November 24, the President of Latvia will lay flowers at the monument to the Unknown Soldier and at the memorial cross of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes, victims of the Maidan. Later on Raimonds Vējonis will take part in the Holodomor Memorial Forum “Ukraine Remembers, the World Acknowledges”, as well as he will visit the Holodomor Victims Memorial.
During the visit, the President of Latvia shall also meet the representatives of the Crimean Tatars and shall visit the East Ukraine.
* Holodomor was a man-made massive famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933 when the Soviet authorities took away food from Ukrainian farmers. These Stalinist repressions were directed against the wealthiest part of the Ukrainian society to destroy “Ukrainian nationalism” and the desire for greater self-determination. According to various estimations, 3.5-7.5 million Ukrainians died because of starvation. In 2008, the Saeima recognised the Holodomor as a genocide against the Ukrainian people.