Kharkov mayor and Jewish community urge police to punish those who desecrated the Drobitsky Yar site
Authorities in Ukraine have launched a criminal investigation after three young people were photographed performing Nazi salutes at a Holocaust memorial in Kharkov, sparking outrage from local officials and Jewish organizations.
The incident occurred at the Drobitsky Yar memorial site, where between 16,000 and 20,000 Jews were executed during the Nazi occupation of World War II. Photos showing the three youths, with two clearly giving the Nazi salute on the steps of the memorial, were widely circulated on local Telegram channels last weekend.
Kharkov Mayor Igor Terekhov condemned the act as “a conscious desecration of memory, of humanity, and of Kharkov itself.”
“Drobitsky Yar is not just a place – it is a wound in the heart of Kharkov. It is silence that screams with the pain of thousands of innocent lives,” Terekhov wrote in a statement on his Telegram channel on Wednesday.
These three are not ‘just kids,’ it’s not a ‘joke,’ not a ‘mistake.’ This is a deliberate act of mockery… I appeal to law enforcement – find them. Quickly. Publicly. And ensure that these young Nazis are punished appropriately for their actions.
The United Jewish Community of Ukraine also condemned the incident and filed a formal complaint with law enforcement. The Kharkov regional police confirmed a pre-trial investigation is underway and said they are working to identify and locate the individuals involved. If convicted, the suspects could face up to five years in prison.
Drobitsky Yar is one of dozens of Holocaust massacre sites across Ukraine, where German forces and local collaborators murdered approximately 1.5 million Jews during World War II.
Russia has consistently accused Ukraine’s leadership of embracing neo-Nazi ideology and whitewashing known WWII-era collaborators. When the conflict between Moscow and Kiev escalated into open hostilities in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin cited the “denazification” of Ukraine as one of the primary objectives of his military operation, alongside demilitarization and neutrality.
Top Russian officials repeatedly pointed to the fact that the current Ukrainian authorities openly celebrate Nazi figures, most notably Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist who collaborated with the Third Reich. Bandera has been officially hailed as a national hero in Ukraine since 2010, with Ukrainian nationalists regularly marking his birthday on January 1 with torchlit marches and massive demonstrations.
