President of Israel arrives on his first state visit to Ukraine

Photo Ukrinform

On the 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy, Israeli President Isaac Herzog will make his first state visit to Ukraine.

This was reported by the Israeli Embassy in Ukraine in a commentary to Interfax-Ukraine, UA writes.

During a state visit to Ukraine, the President of Israel will speak at events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy, meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. He will also address the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and meet with representatives of the Ukrainian Jewish community. The visit will take place on October 5-7, 2021.

Herzog will arrive in Kyiv on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, on the first state visit of his presidency, at the invitation of the Ukrainian president.

During the visit, President Herzog will take part in the official international ceremony dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the murders at Babyn Yar, the opening of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center in Kyiv.

Zeev Elkin, a government representative in Ukraine, and other members of the Knesset will also join the presidential delegation, the embassy said.

“It is necessary to keep talking about this terrible event and learn its lessons. The Holocaust Memorial Center at Babyn Yar is an important place to honor this painful memory and to declare we must continue to do together: never again. The only way to build a present and a future in which crimes against humanity will not find support is to study the past, in particular the Holocaust and the persecution of the Jewish people, in the spirit of the commandment “and you tell your son and daughter”.  I congratulate President Zelenskyy’s invitation and his dedication to the war against anti-Semitism” – the president said on the eve of his first state visit.

President Herzog will begin his visit by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Kyiv, and then go to an official reception at the Mariinskyi Palace, which will begin with a guard of honor.

Later, President Herzog will meet with President Zelenskyy. The meeting will be followed by a joint press statement. In the evening, President Zelenskyy will host President Herzog for a state dinner.

On Wednesday morning, President Herzog will address the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. On the same day, he will take part in an event for the local Jewish community and will meet with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who will also take part in the ceremony in memory of Babyn Yar.

On Wednesday afternoon, President Herzog will speak at the official ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy at the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center in Kyiv.

To remind, September 29 is the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Babyn Yar – one of the most terrible symbols of the Holocaust.

Read also: Volodymyr Zelenskyy honored the memory of the victims of the Babyn Yar tragedy