Russia accuses Israel of supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine dispute

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs today accused Israel of supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine, further fueling the conflict that began when Russian Chancellor Sergei Lavrov claimed that Adolf Hitler was of Jewish descent.

Israel criticized Lavrov on Monday, saying his claim when speaking about the Jewish Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was an “unforgivable” lie that lessened the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust.

The leaders of several Western countries criticized Lavrov’s comments, and Zelensky declared Russia after World War II. He accused him of forgetting the lessons of World War II.

The Russian ministry said in a statement that Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s comments were “anti-historical” and “largely explains why the current Israeli government supports the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev”.

Moscow reiterated Lavrov’s assertion that Zelensky’s Jewish roots did not prevent Ukraine from being ruled by neo-Nazis.

“Anti-Semitism in everyday life and politics has not stopped and on the contrary is being fueled (in Ukraine),” he said.

Lavrov made the claim about Hitler on Italian television Sunday when asked why Russia had said the country should “denazify” Ukraine if its own president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was Jewish.

Israel expressed its support for Ukraine after the Russian invasion in February. But being cautious about relations with Russia, an influential power in neighboring Syria, it initially avoided direct criticism of Moscow and did not impose official sanctions on Russian oligarchs.