Ukraine may ban traditional Hasidic pilgrimage to Uman

The traditional pilgrimage of Hasidic Jews from Israel to Ukraine (Uman) to celebrate Rosh Hashanah may not take place this year. Although, according to the official version, this is due to hostilities and security risks, anonymous sources in the Ukrainian establishment claim that the government’s decision is political in nature due to Israel’s “weak support” for Ukraine in the war with Russia. This was reported by The Times of Israel.

According to Israeli media reports, Ukraine will not allow the annual pilgrimage of tens of thousands of Hasidim to Uman next month due to security concerns caused by the ongoing war with Russia. The decision to ban pilgrims from visiting the grave of Hasidic leader Rabbi Nachman of Breslov during the Rosh Hashanah holiday is partly related to the ban on mass gatherings, which has been in effect throughout Ukraine since February 2022, when Russia invaded the country.

It is noteworthy that in the previous three years, when the war was also ongoing in Ukraine, the government did not impose any special restrictions on pilgrims from Israel to Uman. According to Israeli media sources in Ukrainian politics, the attitude changed in 2025 for political reasons.

An anonymous Ukrainian official told the i24 news agency that Kyiv is disappointed with Israel’s lack of support in the face of the threat from Russia and is demanding that, if the pilgrimage is allowed to go ahead as planned, Jerusalem provide both financial support and a physical police presence on the ground in Uman.

Separately, the publication reported that the Moldovan government is also demanding various guarantees from Israel before agreeing to allow Hasidic pilgrims from Israel to fly to Moldova and travel from there to Uman.

Among the demands are:

• Israel to finance a temporary terminal for additional flights carrying pilgrims to and from
• the pilgrimage site, at a cost of eight million shekels;
• police presence along the route and on flights;
• financing of the necessary equipment to ensure security and logistics.

The publication writes that Moldova wants Israel to transfer the full amount for the operation to the Moldovan government by September 3, otherwise it will not be allowed.

Earlier, we reported that in 2025, Uman may become a place of mass gathering of pilgrims for the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, which will take place from September 18 to 24. According to the organizers’ estimates, about 45,000 believers will arrive in the city, despite the martial law and restrictions on large events. The State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience reported that in terms of scale, this will be the largest Jewish pilgrimage in the world outside of Israel.