Personal Representatives condemn the missile attack on Babyn Yar

The Russian invasion on Ukraine has already resulted in thousands of dead and wounded soldiers and civilians. The unprovoked, aggressive war in Ukraine threatens to bring carnage on a vastly larger scale, not seen in Europe since World War II. 

Yet another reason for international condemnation is the missile attack on Babyn Yar, a neighborhood several miles from the center of Kyiv. It was in Babyn Yar, where in September 1941 Nazi Germany murdered 34,000 Jews, whose bodies remain buried in a ravine adjacent to an old Jewish cemetery. This attack damaged the memorial erected to these Nazi victims. The purpose of this war, we are told, is to “denazify” the Ukrainian leadership, so it is truly tragic and ironic that this site and this monument are among those sites affected by Russian actions. 

In our efforts to combat anti-Semitism throughout the OSCE region, the leadership in Kyiv are allies and examples. We pray for the Ukrainian people and peace. We look forward to the day when we will together repair and rededicate the Babyn Yar monument as a memorial to the struggles of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries.

Rabbi Andrew Baker - Personal Representative on Combating Anti-Semitism

Associate Professor Dr. Regina Polak - Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, also focusing on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians and Members of Other Religions

Ambassador Mehmet Paçacı - Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Combating Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims