Statement by 

Deputy Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Ms. Khrystyna Hayovyshyn

at the General Assembly High-Level Meeting 

“Tenth Anniversary of the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime”

9 December 2025

Madam President,

Today, we honour the victims of genocide and reflect on the painful legacy of atrocities that have scarred humanity. The history of the world knows many such tragedies.

The word genocide itself was born from the ideas of Raphael Lemkin – a lawyer who began his life’s work in the Ukrainian city of Lviv. He saw how empires tried to erase nations and destroy cultures. That is why he defined genocide not only as the killing of people, but as a coordinated plan to destroy the very foundations of a group’s existence.

Ukraine contributed to the development of international law intended to prevent the world’s most serious crimes. But Ukraine is not only a defender of international law – we are also witnesses and victims of its violation.

In the 20th century, Ukraine suffered its own genocide — the Holodomor of 1932–1933. It was a man-made famine created by the Soviet totalitarian regime. Millions of Ukrainians were deliberately starved to death. As more states recognize the Holodomor as genocide, the world is slowly realizing the true scale of this tragedy.

But genocide is not only history. It is happening today.

Russia’s ongoing campaign of killing civilians, attacking critical infrastructure, perpetrating widespread torture and sexual violence, abducting Ukrainian children and erasing cultural and historical heritage constitutes a deliberate and systematic assault on Ukrainian identity itself. Conflict-related sexual violence has been used by Russian forces as a tool of terror and intimidation, intended to break communities and instill fear.

The Kremlin’s propaganda machine fuels these crimes by dehumanizing Ukrainians and labelling an entire nation as “Nazis.” This hate speech is not rhetorical excess - it is incitement. Russian soldiers are given brochures stating, and I quote: “Someday, after denazification, they will become Russians again, but for now they are enemies.” End of quote. Accordingly, Ukrainian children who are deported or trapped in occupied territories are subjected to enforced russification and indoctrination designed to extinguish their identity.

The false and speculative message that Ukraine was conducting so-called genocide in Donetsk and Luhansk regions was used as a pretext for full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022. With this manipulation and speculation Kremlin propaganda machine voluntarily misuses the Genocide Convention and tries to turn it from fundamental human rights treaty to instrument for legitimizing its war of aggression.

Russia’s deliberate strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure underscore its genocidal intent. Moscow has subjected millions of civilians to life-threatening conditions without heat, electricity or water.

Madam President, distinguished delegates,

All the above is not a set of distant early warnings. It is happening now – widespread and systematic war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts that strike at the very heart of what the Genocide Convention was created to prevent. These crimes demand not quiet concern, but immediate, united and decisive action from the international community.

We urgently call to ensure that every individual responsible for crimes against Ukraine and its people is held fully accountable; and to redouble efforts to bring home all illegally deported or forcibly displaced Ukrainian children, in accordance with the General Assembly resolution adopted on 3 December.

Preventing genocide is not a symbolic commitment. It is a legal obligation. It is a moral duty. And it is a test of our shared humanity. Impunity for such heinous crimes cannot be tolerated – not today, not ever.

Thank you.