Welsh journalist who exposed Ukrainian famine horror to be honoured in Kyiv

A Welsh journalist who risked his life to expose a famine that killed millions in 1930s Ukraine will be honoured in the country’s capital city.

A memorial plinth commemorating Gareth Jones, who was born in Barry in 1905, has been unveiled in the Senedd – and will be erected in Kyiv in November, on a street already named after Jones.

The memorial will be in Welsh, English and Ukrainian.

Jones’ work saw him travel across Europe and the Soviet Union, in which Ukraine was once a part.

In 1933, while walking through Soviet Ukraine during the reign of Josef Stalin, Jones saw first-hand the famine affecting millions of people, which became known as the Holodomor.

He was banned from re-entering the Soviet Union, and turned his attention to the Far East – where he was murdered in 1935 during a fact-finding tour. He was just 29-years-old.

The Welsh Government has donated £16,000 towards the memorial, at the request of the Senedd’s cross-party Friends of Ukraine group.

It comes after a delegation of Senedd Members visited Ukraine last year to deliver aid and meet with leaders of Kyiv Council to discuss the memorial.

‘A true Welsh hero’

Jones’ great-nephew, Graham Colley, welcomed the memorial, which he described as a tribute to Jones’ “highest ethical standards of journalism at a time when the Soviet authorities and collaborative journalists sought to hide the truth of those terrible events”.

He continued: “It is a fitting Welsh tribute to a true Welsh hero, one who is sadly better known internationally than he is in Wales.

“I hope this memorial stone will contribute to the growth of relations between the people of Wales and Ukraine.”

Wales’ culture minister, Jack Sargeant, said Jones “told the truth at a time when powerful forces worked to suppress it”.

Mr Sargeant continued: “His eyewitness reporting of the Holodomor brought the horror of that famine to an international audience, at great personal cost. This memorial in Kyiv ensures that his extraordinary courage and his connection to Ukraine is acknowledged and remembered.”

‘A unique individual’

Labour MS Alun Davies, who chairs the Friends of Ukraine group, said: “We don’t do enough to recognise the contribution Welsh citizens have made to world affairs.

“Gareth Jones was a unique individual. Whilst some journalists were wined and dined by the Soviet authorities and chose to ignore or deny what was happening in Ukraine, he chose to go and see for himself and he told the world.”

Mr Davies, who is top of Labour’s list for the Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni seat at this year’s Senedd election, continued: “At this time, when Ukraine’s very existence is under attack and parts of the country where the Holodomor had such terrible impact are occupied, this is a way of recognising the vital role of journalists in exposing the truth, and showing our solidarity and friendship with Ukraine.”