In Poland, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, together with world leaders and former prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camp, took part in events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of its liberation, the Office of the President of Ukraine said.

During World War II, over a million people perished at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, most of them Jews. The camp was liberated on January 27, 1945, when soldiers of the 100th Lviv Division of the 1st Ukrainian Front opened the gates of the main camp.

Sixty years after the camp's liberation, the United Nations General Assembly declared January 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The event was attended by about 50 former prisoners who managed to survive torture in one of the largest Nazi death camps.

"There are very few left – people who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp. Today, they spoke to leaders of nearly 60 countries and to the entire world. They spoke about how ruthless people can become when their minds are poisoned by hatred, about the horrors the camp prisoners had to endure, and about their liberation 80 years ago, on January 27," Zelenskyy said in a Telegram message.

He added that the day of liberation became the second birthday for thousands of Jewish survivors.

"But millions of people perished," the head of state underlined.

"Today, together with the world, Ukraine honors the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and condemns Nazism. Anyone who sows hatred is destined to lose. Anyone who saves lives will earn the gratitude of the world," Zelenskyy said.

The commemoration ceremony took place at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in the Polish city of Oświęcim. It was attended by the heads and representatives of nearly 60 states and international organizations, including the King of the United Kingdom, members of the royal families of Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, as well as the Crown Prince of Norway and the Crown Princess of Sweden. Also present were the presidents of Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Moldova, Germany, North Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Finland, France, Czechia, Montenegro, and Switzerland; the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and the prime ministers of Belgium, Ireland, Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Croatia, and Sweden. Additionally, the presidents of the European Council and the European Parliament were in attendance.