Zelensky commemorates victims of Babyn Yar tragedy

President Volodymyr Zelensky took part in a commemorating ceremony at Babyn Yar, where Nazi Germany committed a massacre of the Kyiv's Jewish population, Ukraine's Federation of Jewish Communities reported on Sept. 29.

"The tragedy in Babyn Yar during WWII became a worldwide symbol of the Holocaust. On Sept. 29, 1941, the Nazis began mass executions of the Jewish population of Kyiv in the ravine," the federation wrote.

"More than 22,000 people were shot that day. The conveyor belt of death did not stop there until mid-October when the number of victims exceeded 50,000."

Except for Zelensky, rabbis from Kyiv, Berdychiv, Zhytomyr, Bila Tserkva, and Cherkasy, as well as the deputy chairman of the federation's council, were present at the ceremony, marking the 82nd anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy.

In his speech, Zelensky said that Judaism in Ukraine is "flourishing and developing without any discrimination," according to the report.

He congratulated the Jewish community on Sukkot, a seven-day holiday celebrated on Sept. 29-Oct. 6 this year.

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The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk