Today is a day that reminds us why any brutal empires deserve to fall. 81 years ago, the Soviet regime began the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people. An entire nation was expelled from its native land and forced onto a journey that became a death sentence for thousands upon thousands of people, for countless families. At least one third of the Crimean Tatar people were lost to disease, starvation, exhaustion and abuse. A tragedy that became possible because of a criminal totalitarian system and the impunity of the rulers in Moscow. A tragedy that should never have happened again. But yet another Russian occupation of Crimea took place in 2014 – and now once again, unfortunately, thousands of families are separated. Once again, there is a need to fight for freedom and for one’s home. We honor the memory of all the victims of the deportation – the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people. We remember how important it was that the people were able to return home. We continue to work to defend our independent state, all our people, and all our land. Crimea, like all of Ukraine, must be free. Empires always fall.