On this day, we bow our heads and lower our national flags in memory of the millions of Ukrainians who became victims of the totalitarian regime of the USSR and the Russian Federation.

During the Soviet occupation of Ukraine, over 14,000 residents of Luhansk Region suffered under the communist regime. Most of them were sentenced to prison in concentration camps, while others were deported or shot.

Among them were representatives of the intelligentsia who fought for the right of Ukrainians to self-determination and against totalitarianism. Mykola Rudenko, Ivan Svitlychny, Volodymyr Sosyura are repressed Ukrainians whose path is inextricably linked to our region. They became targets of the Soviet authorities for their human rights activities and creativity, which were labeled "anti-Soviet."

Unfortunately, our grief is connected not only with the tragic past, but also with the present. In the occupied Luhansk region, the Russians are creating "filtration" camps, where they detain, torture and kill our Defenders and ordinary residents who do not agree with the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation. In addition, the racists continue to deport adults and children to the territory of the Russian Federation.

We see a terrible continuity of the murderous actions of the Soviet totalitarian regime and the modern Russian aggression. The current Kremlin regime commits crimes against humanity; it uses methods that combine the most shameful practices of Stalinism.

The criminals of the past should be harshly condemned by history, and the modern Russian executioners should be condemned by an international tribunal.

So today, on the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repression, we are doing our utmost to consolidate our efforts and those of the entire international community for sustainable peace and justice.

Glory to Ukraine!

Head of the Luhansk Regional

state administration

Oleksiy KHARCHENKO