Sen. Mark Miloscia, R-Federal Way, traveled to New York City where he was awarded the Order of Merit Third Degree by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Sept. 25 at the Ukrainian Institute of America.

Poroshenko took time from his attendance at the UN General Assembly to honor Miloscia and other award merit recipients. Also in attendance with the 30th District senator were son Scott Miloscia and his daughter-in-law Minyoung Lee.

The medal was presented to Miloscia for his contributions to promoting Ukrainian history, heritage and culture, including his sponsorship and passing of SR8663 in May 2017 recognizing the 84th anniversary of the Holodomor. The Holodomor was a man–made famine caused by Joseph Stalin, which killed over five million in Ukraine in 1932-1933.

“It is a great honor to be recognized for my legislative efforts in the Washington State Senate,” Miloscia said in a press release. “We must never forget horrific events like the Holodomor. I was honored when local Ukrainian leaders in our state asked me to sponsor this resolution. Local immigrant communities, to include the growing Ukrainian community, bring so much to our communities and we should be honoring their culture and history.”

Miloscia said he only learned of this ceremony over the weekend when Washington state’s honorary consul of Ukraine Valeriy Goloborodko notified him that Poroshenko wanted to award him the medal while he was in New York for the UN General Assembly.

Miloscia mentioned that Washington is home to the fifth-largest Ukrainian-American population in the U.S., and Americans with Ukrainian heritage living in Washington have enriched the state through their leadership and contributions in agriculture, business, academia, government, and the arts.