Ukrainian nationalists marched in annual torchlight procession in Kiev with portraits of WWII-era leader
Ukrainian nationalists held their annual torchlight procession in Kiev on Saturday, celebrating the birth of a controversial WWII-era figure. Israeli diplomats said the march “insulted” the memory of the Holocaust.
The activists chanted “Glory” and “Our land” as they marked the birthday of Stepan Bandera, one of the wartime leaders of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN).
Some carried portraits and banners with images of Bandera, and shouted “Bandera, come and restore the order.” One person was filmed wielding what appears to be a ceremonial sword.
The procession ended with a rally in front of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Israeli Embassy in Kiev condemned the procession. “The glorification of those who supported Nazi ideology, insults the memory of the victims of Holocaust in Ukraine,” the embassy said in a statement on Facebook, demanding that Kiev investigate “manifestations of anti-Semitism” during the march.
Bandera initially collaborated with the Nazi regime in Hitler’s war against the Soviet Union, but was later arrested by German authorities and spent some time in a concentration camp. In 1959, he was assassinated by a Soviet agent in Munich, Germany.
