The following statement was released on May 8 by the Ukrainian World Congress.
On May 8, the 75th anniversary of the Victory Day in Europe, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) joins the international community in solemn commemoration for the millions of victims and in eternal gratitude to the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for a free world.
World War II, which had begun in 1939 with the Nazi-Soviet invasion and dismemberment of Poland, became the most brutal war in human history. Its cost is beyond calculation: in Ukraine alone, over 8 million lives were lost, over 2 million people were forcibly deported. Today we pay tribute to millions of Ukrainian men and women who bravely fought in the World War II, among them over 250 000 Ukrainians who served in Polish, French, British, U.S. and Canadian armed forces. We owe them an eternal debt that can never be repaid.