Nick Rahall: “we are all too aware of the damage that can be inflicted during wartime by conventional weapons. However, the Ukrainian…”

“we are all too aware of the damage that can be inflicted during wartime by conventional weapons. However, the Ukrainian genocide is evidence of the shocking and deadly potential of an unconventional weapon such as hunger. In an attempt to permanently cement the Ukrainian people under Soviet control, the grain supply to Ukraine was purposely manipulated by Joseph Stalin, beginning in 1932 and leading to widespread hunger and starvation. While precise figures are difficult to calculate, historians place the number of dead as a result of this policy between 8 and 10 million men, women and children. In rural Ukraine, it is thought that one in four people starved to death. These deaths have rightly been labeled one of the worst genocides in human history. Yet outside of Ukraine, this horrific chapter in human history is not well known. Working with the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, our colleague and valued Member, Congressman Sandy Levin, from Michigan hopes to change that beginning with H.R. 562. This legislation amounts to formal acceptance by the United States Government of a memorial gift offered to this country by the people of Ukraine. The memorial is to be located here in our Nation's Capital and is intended to commemorate for Americans, as well as visitors from around the world, the incredible sacrifice made by the people of Ukraine in their long struggle for freedom.…”