On the Day of Remembrance of Victims of Political Repressions, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has honored the memory of those killed by the totalitarian regime.

Addressing the attendees in the National Historic Memorial Reserve "Bykivnia Graves", the President noted that Ukrainians bow to the memory of the fallen and got rid of the symbols of terror.

"Recently, I signed laws on decommunization, recognition of heroes of the national liberation struggle; and several other laws that modernize politics of national memory and liberate it from imperial layers," he said.

Petro Poroshenko reminded that Bykivnia Graves were one of the main witnesses of communist terror, an evidence of large-scale crime against humanity. Every piece of this land is imbued with blood of innocent Ukrainians and representatives of other nationalities of former USSR - Russians, Poles and Jews. "Not public enemies, spies and diversionists, but ordinary workers and farmers, teachers and priests, scientists and writers who loved their land and language were among them," the President noted.

"The whole nation, which wasn't fully eliminated by Holodomor, was deprived of life here. Our "executed renaissance of Ukraine" is buried here," he said reminding that over 100,000 people were buried in Bykivnia.

The Head of State has noted that the reserve was a place to honor the memory of all people killed by repressive bodies all over Ukraine and buried in an unmarked grave.

The President stressed that modern Ukrainians should not only remember, but also do everything for such tragic events not to happen again in the history of our country.

"We came today to the ground of Bykivnia to worship the ashes of innocent victims of our ancestors. Praying for their souls, we swear not to allow the new red or brown genocide against our people again,"Petro Poroshenko said.

He is convinced that the remembrance of that tragedy and heroism of Ukrainians should become the basis for building a new Ukrainian state. "We feel responsibility for the living, for those who are building a new European democratic Ukraine. Ukraine has to become wealthy and prosperous in the name of blessed memory of those whose lives wrote our history," he said.

Together with the President, the ceremony was attended by Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Deputy Chairman of Verkhovna Rada Oksana Syroyid, Head of Kyiv City State Administration Vitali Klitschko and Head of Kyiv Regional State Administration Volodymyr Shandra.

Also the memorable event was attended by representatives of the Government, Presidential Administration, diplomats of many foreign countries, clergy, representatives of NGOs, relatives of victims of political repression.

The memory of the victims of political repression was honored with a moment of silence. After installing wreaths to the mass grave, the President laid flowers to the monument of the victims of totalitarianism. Then, together with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Poland to Ukraine Henryk Litwin, he laid flowers to the Memorial of the Polish graves.