Ukraine is demanding that Russia release archival documents regarding the crimes of the Soviet regime
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has called on the international community to strongly condemn the crimes of the Soviet totalitarian regime and has issued an official demand to the Russian Federation to declassify archival materials.
The foreign ministry issued the statement ahead of the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Political Repression, which is observed annually on the third Sunday in May.
Ukrainian diplomats emphasized the importance of preserving the national memory of millions of tortured and persecuted compatriots. The geography of Soviet terror is forever etched in the tragic place names across the country.
These historical lessons are directly linked to contemporary security challenges and the Ukrainian people’s struggle for survival.
“We bow our heads in memory of the millions of people who suffered repression, persecution, torture, arrests, and moral and physical destruction at the hands of the Soviet regime. Bykivnia Forest, Demyaniv Laz, Suchia Balka, P’yatykhatky, Rutchenkove Pole, Sandarmokh, and other names will never be forgotten,” the statement reads.
The ministry drew particular attention to the fact that the lack of legal accountability for the actions of Soviet executioners has given rise to the current aggression. The world failed to condemn and punish the organizers of the repressions in a timely manner.
It is precisely this total impunity that has led to mass Russian atrocities during the Russian Federation’s current war of aggression against Ukraine.
Official Kyiv calls on foreign states to support historical justice and help establish the truth.
The international community must remember “every life taken, every shattered destiny, every world destroyed” and demand accountability for the atrocities of both the past and the present.
Active support for independent scientific research is also an important step.
Diplomats called on partners to counter the Kremlin’s historical manipulations and Russian propaganda’s attempts to deny these crimes, obstruct their investigation, or downplay or trivialize them.
Full access to historical sources—which Moscow is trying to conceal—remains the key condition for restoring justice.
“We demand that Moscow stop hiding the truth from the world, open the archives, and publish documents regarding the crimes of the NKVD and other atrocities of the Soviet period, which will, in particular, allow for the identification of the true names of the perpetrators and their victims and the restoration of historical justice,” the Foreign Ministry’s statement emphasizes.
The statement quotes Foreign Minister Andrei Sibiga, who spoke in Chisinau during the launch of the Special Tribunal.
Over the past centuries, Ukraine has suffered too many atrocities, oppression, occupations, world wars, genocides, Stalinist repressions, Chernobyl, and other crimes, yet it has never seen true justice.
Russians want to return to the Soviet economy
Sibiga stated that there are no delays with weapons from the U.S.
