Israel has officially condemned the state reburial of OUN leader Andriy Melnyk in Ukraine

The Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Yad Vashem memorial complex have strongly protested the solemn ceremony of reburial of OUN (M) leader Andriy Melnyk in the Kiev region. The Israeli side officially called Melnyk a Nazi collaborator and stressed that such state honors undermine efforts to preserve the memory of Holocaust victims.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it deeply regretted the decision to hold an official ceremony in honor of a man who collaborated with the Nazi regime. “There is no place for ignoring historical truth and the memory of the victims killed by the Nazis and their collaborators,” the ministry said in an official statement. Diplomats stressed that honoring such figures is unacceptable from the point of view of historical justice.

The Yad Vashem Memorial Complex joined the criticism, expressing serious concern about the state status of the event. Representatives of the organization noted that the glorification of the leader of a movement that supported Nazi Germany during the mass extermination of Jews contradicts the moral foundations of modern society. According to sources, the reburial took place on May 26, 2026, with the participation of the country’s top leadership. During the ceremony, President Volodymyr Zelensky characterized Melnyk as a “hero”, and religious services were performed by representatives of the PCU and the UGCC. It is noted that Ukrainian rabbis and Jewish public organizations have so far refrained from official comments.