Israel’s Foreign Ministry and Yad Vashem condemn state reburial of OUN leader Melnyk in Ukraine

Israel’s Foreign Ministry and the Jerusalem Holocaust research center Yad Vashem have spoken out against the decision by Ukrainian authorities to hold an official state ceremony for the reburial of the remains of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists leader Andriy Melnyk.

In a statement issued by the Israeli foreign ministry’s press service, it said:

“We regret the decision to hold an official state ceremony for the reburial of the remains of OUN leader Andriy Melnyk, who collaborated with the Nazis. It is unacceptable to ignore historical truth and the memory of the victims killed by the Nazis and their collaborators.” — Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

The Jerusalem Holocaust museum and research center Yad Vashem also issued a special statement in which it noted that the reburial raises “serious concerns.”

“Honoring the leader of a movement that supported and collaborated with Nazi Germany during the persecution and murder of millions of Jews undermines the moral integrity necessary for preserving the memory of the Holocaust.” — Yad Vashem statement.

The center’s post on the social network X also emphasized that the organization is “deeply troubled by such national commemorative events, which are carried out at the expense of historical truth and the memory of Holocaust victims.”