Comment by Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna on the day commemorating June deportations

Today we are remembering all those who became victims of deportations and the communist regime in Estonia. It was 82 years ago and several generations have grown up since then, but the memory of the deportations still stays with the people of Estonia even as the years pass. These grave crimes against humanity should not have occurred again. Unfortunately, they have a direct link with the present, as millions of Ukrainians are fighting for their lives and their loved ones. Russia’s war in Ukraine has continued for more than a year now. During this time, it has been factually established that numerous and grave crimes are being committed in areas under Russian control – extra-judicial killings, arrests, kidnapping, torture and rape on a mass scale. More than 19 000 children have been forcefully taken to Russia, more than 10 000 innocent people have been killed. It is the responsibility of Estonia and the international community to offer Ukraine every support until it has won the war and to make sure that no crime committed in Ukraine goes unpunished.