Brussels 24 August : Europe will stand united against Russian war-making efforts in Ukraine as promised by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday , as she hit out at Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the Day of Remembrance for victims of authoritarianism. “Putin brought the terrible horrors of conflict back to Europe as well with the warning that peace can’t be taken for granted,” von der Leyen stated in her statement.
The European Union (EU) has observed the Europe-Wide Day of Remembrance for the victims of all authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, or “Black Ribbon Day” every year on the 23rd of August since 2009, according to DPA news agency.
It also marks the date of the centennial of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact an agreement for military non-aggression between Nazi Germany and the Soviert Union that paved the way for the German invasion of Poland in September 1939.
The EU stands “united against the Russian state-controlled propaganda that distorts the history and propagates conspiracy, and penalizes those who do not agree with it” Von der Leyen stated.
In recent years the EU has emphasized its importance of the day for highlighting the Soviet Union’s violations and crimes in Europe in a bid to fight back against the Russian-led revisionism.
A European Parliament resolution, adopted in 2019 in the context of Kremlin efforts to “whitewash the wrongs that were committed by the Soviet totalitarian regime” as “a risky element of the war on information that was waged against democracy in Europe”.
Six months following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, von der Leyen declared that”the “Ukrainian people are sacrificing their lives to defend the principles” of the EU.
“The bitter reminder of the past isn’t only a distant memory, it has also found an echo in Russia’s unjustified and illegal military campaign against Ukraine,” she said.
