Left-wing activists held a solidarity rally in Kyiv on August 17 for the residents of Gaza who are suffering from famine, which has been highlighted by international human rights organisations.
The event took place in a symbolic location, in front of the museum dedicated to the victims of the artificial famine in Ukraine, the Holodomor of 1932–33. Protesters called on European governments to put pressure on Israel to immediately resolve the humanitarian crisis.
Ukrainian activists cite United Nations data according to which 500,000 people — about a third of the population of the Gaza Strip — have not received food for several days. More than 200 people have already died of starvation, more than 100 of whom are children. International organisations, including the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the World Food Program, blame the Israeli government for the humanitarian disaster, as it is preventing aid from reaching the civilian population of Gaza.
"In the 1930s, Ukrainians also experienced an artificial famine, the Holodomor. We, Ukrainian socialists, have gathered here today in Kyiv, near the Holodomor Museum, a symbol of our national tragedy, to express our solidarity with the Palestinians who are trapped in starvation. We have no right to remain silent when this is happening again — now, in Gaza. Stalin hid the fact of the artificial famine in Ukraine from the world. And the world remained silent. The famine in Gaza cannot be hidden — it is happening in front of everyone's eyes. We ask: why does the world allow this to happen? We, Ukrainians, have been living under Russian aggression for four years now. And we understand the horrors of a war of aggression better than many. Today, we stand with Palestine," the organisers of the rally declared.
Protesters unfurled the flags of Ukraine and Palestine as a sign of mutual support between the two nations, which are facing imperialist invasions and experiencing the occupation of their internationally recognised territories.
"Ukraine has been officially recognising the State of Palestine since 1991 and has diplomatic relations with it. All European and American governments should do the same, recognise Palestinian statehood. We also call on European governments to exert political and economic pressure on Israel to withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip and illegal settlements from the West Bank," the Ukrainian leftists said.
Rally participants pointed out that in 2023, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Israel's goals in the war in Gaza are the same as Russia's in its attack on Ukraine — “demilitarisation and denazification”. According to the protesters, this is evidence of how similar arguments are used by aggressor states to justify their criminal actions.
“From Ukraine to Palestine, occupation is a crime,” chanted participants in Kyiv.
The Holodomor Museum in Kyiv honours the memory of the victims of the artificial famine of 1932–33, organised by Joseph Stalin's regime from Moscow, in which about 3.9 million Ukrainians died.