Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, of Jewish faith, “a shame for the Jewish people”, once again accusing Ukraine of being in the hands of neo-Nazis to justify its armed operation there.
“I have a lot of Jewish friends from childhood. And they say that Zelensky is not Jewish, but a disgrace to the Jewish people. It’s not a joke,” he said during the interview. an economic forum in Saint Petersburg (north-west), which AFP could not attend for lack of accreditation, but which was broadcast live on Russian television.
Mr. Putin once again accused the Ukrainian president of “covering these bastards as neo-Nazis” and of treating Nazi collaborators during the Second World War as heroes.
“Why aren’t we being listened to?” he asked. “We have to fight against that,” he said.
“We have every right to consider the goal of denazification of Ukraine as one of the key objectives,” he added.
Mr. Putin justified his assault on Ukraine on February 24, 2022 by claiming the duty to “denazify” his neighbor whom he accuses of an alleged “genocide” of Russian-speakers in Ukraine.
The chief rabbi of Ukraine reacted to these remarks, saying he was proud of Volodymyr Zelensky.
“And I’m not the only one. I think the whole world is proud of him,” said Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman, quoted by the Ukrainian agency Unian.
“He did not flee, and he is doing everything to help the Ukrainian people,” he added.
He also said there were no neo-Nazi forces in Ukraine as claimed by the Kremlin.
“There are honest people in Ukraine, who defend their homeland,” he said according to the agency.
In a statement on Twitter, the American Jewish Committee for its part saw in “Putin’s attempt to denigrate the Jewish origin of President Zelensky” a “desperate and lamentable” reaction.
06/16/2023 23:48:34 – Moscow (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
