Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Babyn Yar memorial near Kyiv along with international officials and Jewish leaders on Friday.

Senior government officials, ambassadors, MPs, Ukrainian Chief Rabbi Moshe Azman and Rabbi Steven Burg, CEO of Aish HaTorah, were also present at the prayer and candle-lighting ceremony.

The ceremony was organized by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine in collaboration with the Holocaust Commemoration Center in Babyn Yar and the Babyn Yar National Historical Remembrance Center.

In a video address before the ceremony, Zelensky stated "We know and remember that indifference kills along with hatred. Indifference and hatred are always capable of creating evil together only. That is why it is so important that everyone who values life should show determination when it comes to saving those whom hatred seeks to destroy."

Ceremony marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day at Babyn Yar, January 27, 2023 (credit: Federation of Jewish Communities in Ukraine)

"These days, it is more important than ever to remind ourselves of the universal lessons of the Holocaust," said the Chairman of the Federation Council, Rabbi Meir Stambler. "We must not forget the terrible crime against humanity that occurred years ago and we must stop the history of the Holocaust from being transmitted in a distorted way."

Rabbi Raphael Rothman said a special memorial prayer at the end of the ceremony.

The massacre at Babyn Yar

Over 33,000 Jews and tens of thousands of Ukrainians, Roma, Soviets and the physically and mentally disabled were executed by the Nazis and their collaborators at Babyn Yar in 1941. All of the victims were buried in a mass grave at the site.

In March of last year, a Russian missile strike hit a television tower near the Babyn Yar site. At the time, Ukrainian officials claimed that the site itself had been hit.

In September, Zelensky visited the memorial to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the Babyn Yar massacre.

Zelensky's great-grandparents were killed by the Nazis, who burned down their village.

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