On the 82nd anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid tribute to the victims of the mass shootings of civilians by the Nazis in occupied Kyiv during World War II.
The head of state put a memorial lamp at the Menorah monument at the Babyn Yar National Historical and Memorial Reserve.
The commemoration of the executed Jews and other victims of the Nazis was also attended by Righteous Among the Nations Vasyl Nazarenko, relatives and descendants of Babyn Yar victims, former prisoners of the ghetto and Nazi concentration camps, and rabbis.
Representatives of Jewish religious organisations held a memorial prayer.
"Thank you for finding the opportunity to be here today to commemorate the victims of Babyn Yar, Nazi repression, and the Holocaust. I am grateful to the Jewish religious representatives who prayed to commemorate the victims of Babyn Yar," the president said during his conversation with the participants of the event.
Zelenskyy noted the heroism of the Righteous Among the Nations.
"It is very important to always remember history, not to forget. Because 'Never again!' are not empty words," he stressed.
On behalf of the President, baskets of flowers were also laid at the monument to other victims of the Nazis in Babyn Yar and to the monuments to Ukrainian writer Olena Teliha and Roma shot by the Nazis.