On November 28, the 25 UAE team in Antarctica lit candles of sadness for the victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933. An artificial famine in Ukraine, staged by the communist Stalinist regime, has claimed the lives of an estimated 6-8 million Ukrainians.
“We believe that these black pages of Ukrainian history should be reminded both today and in a hundred years. Our team also includes people whose families suffered from the 1932 genocide,” said Yurii Otruba, leader of the 25th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition.
Taking into account the time difference, the polar explorers at Akademik Vernadsky station lit memorial candles at the same time as their compatriots in Ukraine – at 11.00 local time, that is, at 16.00 Kyiv time.
For several years in a row, Ukrainian polar explorers at the Antarctic research station have been joining the “Light a Candle” campaign, which takes place in Ukraine every year on the Holodomor Remembrance Day, the last Saturday of November.