85th anniversary of Babi Yar killings marked in shadow of Russia-Ukraine war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, alongside Israeli and German leaders, on Tuesday marked the 85th anniversary of one of the largest mass shootings of Jews during the Holocaust, at a ravine in Kyiv known as Babi Yar.

The annual commemoration was held as the Russia-Ukraine war continued for the fifth year, with the Ukrainian leader drawing a parallel between the need to remember the crimes of the past and the shared struggle against contemporary threats.

“It is important that, despite the brutal Russian war, on the 85th anniversary of the tragedy, our partners have the opportunity to come to Kyiv and pay tribute to all the innocent victims of this horrific crime,” Zelenskyy said. “And it is our shared duty to unite against evil so that such tragedies never happen again,” he continued.

More than 33,000 Jews were murdered at the site in just two days between September 29–30, 1941.

Later killings at the site included Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, and other civilians.

“Historical truth is not a weapon to be bent to the needs of the present,” Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan said in his remarks. “It is a responsibility entrusted to us.”

Diplomats, rabbis and representatives of Jewish communities also attended the event, held near the Jewish memorial at the site, and lit memorial candles.