Zelensky Compares Russian Actions to Babyn Yar Massacre

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky participated in the annual commemoration ceremony at Babyn Yar, near Kyiv, honoring the over 33,000 Jews murdered by the Nazis on September 29-30, 1941. The ceremony was held under heightened security, including air defense systems and snipers, due to fears of an assassination attempt on the president, potentially involving Russian drones. These measures were implemented amid a recent escalation of Russian strikes on Kyiv, which have resulted in civilian casualties and injuries.

Among the recent victims was Israeli teenager Daniel Umansky, killed on September 25 by a Russian drone that hit his Kyiv home. Before the ceremony, representatives of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine informed Zelensky about the preparations to send Umansky's body back to Israel for burial on September 30. The family requested he be interred in a cemetery in central Israel.

In his speech, Zelensky stated, "We must remember the horrors that happened here many years ago. Now they are happening again, this time at the hands of Russians." He thanked diplomats and the international community for their support in combating what he described as "horrors that Russians are perpetrating against Ukraine, against humanity, and against civilization."

The ceremony was attended by representatives from approximately 50 countries, including the new Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine, Roey Rosenblit, and ambassadors from all G7 nations. Rabbis and emissaries from Chabad also participated. The event was organized by the Ukrainian Presidential Administration, the Babyn Yar Memorial Complex, and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine.

For Dvora Leah Levengertz, the ceremony held personal significance as her great-grandmother, Sonya Pozner, was among those murdered at Babyn Yar 85 years prior. Pozner, originally from Romny, was in Kyiv when she was taken to Babyn Yar and killed. Levengertz emphasized that the most meaningful way to honor the memory of the victims is through the continuation of Jewish life in Kyiv.