• 

The Israeli occupation's Charge d'Affaires in Moscow had been summoned for a discussion concerning remarks made by "Tel Aviv's" Ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, regarding the glorification of Nazi accomplices in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

During the meeting, which took place at the Russian foreign ministry, Krausz was briefed on Ambassador Brodsky's public statements, in which he expressed his belief that the process of whitewashing former Nazi collaborators in Ukraine was unstoppable.

Brodsky asserted that cooperation with Ukrainian authorities should not be tied to the issue of glorifying figures such as Stepan Bandera and his supporters.

Read next: Poland PM to remind Ukraine that glorifying Bandera unacceptable

"The Israeli diplomat’s attention was drawn to the public remarks by the Israeli Ambassador to Kiev, Michael Brodsky, who said that it is impossible to stop the process of whitewashing former Nazi collaborators in Ukraine and that cooperation with Ukrainian authorities should not be linked with the topic of the glorification of Stepan Bandera and his supporters," the statement said.

The ministry stressed the importance of continued collaborative endeavors in this regard, emphasizing the need for an unequivocal assessment of the actions of those who, in their pursuit of Russophobic sentiments, draw inspiration from individuals like Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevich, "who stained their hands with the blood of thousands of innocent victims, including Jews," the ministry said.

Bandera was a Ukrainian nationalist leader who collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II and was responsible for mass atrocities against civilians as a leader of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA).

The UPA operated mainly in western Ukraine and fought against Soviet forces in cooperation with Nazi Germany. The UPA had many crimes to their credit, including the Volhynia massacre, a mass slaughter of the Polish population residing in Volhynia and Galicia in 1943.

Polish historians consider the massacres as genocide and ethnic cleansing, which claimed the lives of up to 130,000 people.

In the 1930s, Bandera joined the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a union between radical nationalists and extreme right-wing organizations, including the Union of Ukrainian Fascists. 

The OUN initiated a campaign of terror in Poland, which included the assassination of prominent Polish politicians, such as Interior Minister Bronislaw Pieracki, as well as Polish and Ukrainian moderates, such as Tadeusz Holowko.

In addition to discussions on this matter, the meeting touched upon various ongoing issues in Russian-Israeli relations. Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to further developing these relations, as noted by the ministry.

Earlier, in an interview with the Israeli Iton.tv news website, Ambassador Brodsky remarked that Ukrainians were in pursuit of national heroes, mentioning nationalist leaders such as Bandera, Andrey Melnik, and Roman Shukhevich.

According to Brodsky, while the occupation held a divergent perspective on these individuals, it would be inappropriate to put forward the demand to "stop renaming streets or portraying Bandera or Melnik as heroes" as a precondition for international support for Ukraine.

The Israeli occupation has for a while been flagrantly supporting Ukraine, and this is not new, former Russian diplomat Alexander Zasypkin told Al Mayadeen months ago.

"Moscow is closely following up all forms of Israeli-Ukrainian cooperation," Zasypkin added, and "Israel is doing that because it is part of the West's policies."

He also highlighted that "the degree of development of Israeli-Ukrainian relations has its implications, especially if it reaches the military field."

"It is too early to determine all the repercussions of the Israeli-Ukrainian rapprochement," but "Moscow does not need to have a decisive position on this issue."

Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in early February that "Israel" would consider the possibility of supplying arms to Ukraine and thinking about the issue of providing Kiev with the Iron Dome anti-air system.

The Russian source said "Tel Aviv" is using third countries to conceal its bias toward Ukraine, highlighting that several Israeli armored vehicles have been detected in Ukraine.