Russia is a follower of the Soviet Union in its defiance of human rights, and Ukraine will continue to stand for the protection of human rights and freedoms even in times of greatest challenges, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy has said.

"Even during the times of greatest challenges, we will continue to stand for the development of democratic processes and protection of human rights and freedoms. This is a fundamental difference between Ukraine and the Evil Empire, the Russian Federation," he said in his address to a forum in Kyiv, which was called to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Ukrainian parliament's speaker said Ukraine's adherence to the protection of human rights can also be confirmed by the fact that after martial law was introduced in part of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada did not hesitate to schedule the presidential elections for March 31, 2019.

Parubiy recalled the delegation from the Soviet Union had not voted for the Declaration of Human Rights.

"It is worth noting that according to the tradition of the Evil Empire, which in 1948 opposed signing that document, the Kremlin today continues the same policy as in the times back then," he said.

The speaker recalled that the Russian president called the collapse of the Soviet Union the greatest tragedy of the 20th century.

"Today [Russian president] Putin is obsessed with the idea of restoring the influence and traditions of the Soviet Union, the Evil Empire, which showed to the entire world at that time that it did not wish to and would not respect human rights. Therefore, today's regime [in Russia] are ideological followers of the Soviet Union," Parubiy said.