{"id":6195,"date":"2026-05-25T17:11:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T17:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=6195"},"modified":"2026-05-29T13:48:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:48:53","slug":"israel-slams-zelensky-over-tribute-to-nazi-collaborator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/25\/israel-slams-zelensky-over-tribute-to-nazi-collaborator\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel slams Zelensky over tribute to Nazi collaborator"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ukrainian leader reburied Andrey Melnik as a \u201chero\u201d with state honors<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has condemned Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky\u2019s decision to rebury Nazi collaborator Andrey Melnik with full state honors, declaring that \u201cthere is no place for ignoring historical truth.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Melnik\u2019s remains were repatriated from Luxembourg and buried in Kiev\u2019s main military cemetery on Monday, with Zelensky and his top officials attending the ceremony. Describing Melnik as a \u201chero,\u201d<\/em> Zelensky said that he \u201cworked to ensure that Ukraine was what it is, that Ukraine was itself, that Ukraine was free.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In a statement on Monday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that it regrets \u201cthe decision to hold an official state reburial ceremony for OUN leader Andrey Melnik, who collaborated with the Nazis,\u201d<\/em> adding \u201cthere is no place for ignoring historical truth and the memory of the victims murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center said that Melnik\u2019s reburial \u201craises serious concerns.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

We regret the decision to hold an official state reburial ceremony for OUN leader Andriy Melnyk, who collaborated with the Nazis. There is no place for ignoring historical truth and the memory of the victims murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. https:\/\/t.co\/wwBWPlqneI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) May 25, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHonoring the leader of a movement that supported and collaborated with Nazi Germany during the persecution and murder of millions of Jews undermines the moral integrity essential to Holocaust remembrance,\u201d<\/em> the center said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Melnik co-founded the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in 1929 and led the organization from 1938 onwards, after Soviet agents killed its previous leader, Evgeny Konovalets. Melnik immediately began conducting espionage and sabotage operations for Nazi Germany\u2019s military intelligence agency, the Abwehr.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT\"
Ukraine reburies Nazi collaborator as Zelensky pushes for \u2018hero pantheon\u2019 (VIDEO)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The OUN split in 1940, with one part led by local Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera, who is also revered as a \u201chero\u201d<\/em> by Zelensky\u2019s government. Both factions of the OUN aided in the deportation and slaughter of Jews and Poles during the Second World War. After Nazi forces and Banderist collaborators murdered more than 33,000 Jewish men, women, and children at Babi Yar in 1942, Melnik delivered a radio address telling Ukrainians they were \u201cconsciously and systematically obliged to assist [Nazi troops] in their crusade against Moscow, regardless of any difficulties.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Melnik petitioned Adolf Hitler to create a Ukrainian Waffen SS division, but eventually fell out of favor with the Third Reich, and was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1944. He avoided trial at Nuremberg and settled in Luxembourg after the war, where he remained politically active until his death in 1964.<\/p>\n

Responding to Kiev\u2019s plans to rebury Melnik, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Zelensky last week of glorifying \u201cNazi collaborationists and human-hating scum\u201d<\/em> from around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ukrainian leader reburied Andrey Melnik as a \u201chero\u201d with state honors The Israeli Foreign Ministry has condemned Ukrainian leader […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6195"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6195"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6198,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6195\/revisions\/6198"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}