In a post on his personal Facebook page, the president of the ACP, Pavlo Sadokha, emphasizes that the elections for the European Parliament are of "extreme importance" for Ukraine, "both for victory in the war and reconstruction, as well as for the future of accession to the European Union (EU)".

"On May 09 [Thursday], Europe Day, we will have a great opportunity to appeal to Portuguese voters to support the political parties that consistently support Ukraine", states Sadokha.

According to the president of the ACP, the rally has the motto "A United Europe from Kyiv to Lisbon!", and will begin at 07:00 pm at Praça D. Pedro IV (Rossio), in Lisbon, where a statement will also be made to Portuguese society and political parties to support Ukraine.

In another statement, the ACP recalls that many of the Ukrainians who have lived in Portugal since the first economic migration, in the 2000s, when they hear the Portuguese National Anthem, "sincerely place their hand on their heart".

"Portugal has given us something essential, without which the future cannot be envisioned. Being a free person in a free country is the most important condition for fulfilling dreams and opportunities for each individual", reads the text.

In the informative note, the ACP strongly criticizes the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and resumed on February 24, 2022, recalling the years of "oppression and servitude" during the Soviet occupation of the country, "which devastated and ruined millions of lives".

"Many Ukrainians have learned from you (the Portuguese) to respect their own history, language, culture, and also to respect others. Unfortunately, in the 21st century, we are facing another world. A world of aggressive leaders who want to return to the totalitarian past, blackmailing independent countries with a new world war or a nuclear catastrophe", emphasizes the ACP. 

"But we will never return to that past. We have made our choice and every day we pay a very high price to resist Russian aggression, something which we have also achieved with your help", it adds.

For the ACP, in the mind of Russian President Vladimir Putin, "there is only one way to subjugate a free Ukraine and then conquer other free countries: divide the democratic world, divide a United Europe".

"Putin does not have infinite resources to continue the war. His greatest strength does not lie in weaponry or the number of soldiers. He continues to bribe individual agents of influence or even political parties within the European Union. His main strength is propaganda, corruption and populism", continues the ACP. 

"For this, [Putin] does not need to worry about his own people, nor fulfill social and political obligations. What Putin fears most is a united democratic Europe, of free countries, that builds its relations based on commitments and healthy competition, considering common interests", argues the association of Ukrainians in Portugal.

In this sense, on Europe Day, celebrated on Thursday, the ACP appeals to the Portuguese to make their choice in favor of Ukraine, "which defends European values against the totalitarian fascism of Putin's Russia".

"Make the choice in favor of the guardian of Peace, of the Free World and of a united Europe: from Kyiv to Lisbon!", concludes the document.

The elections for the European Parliament will take place between June 06 and 09, the last day being the one on which the Portuguese will go to the polls to choose their 21 representatives.

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