Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Reuven Asman stated in an exclusive interview with RBC-Ukraine that he has been systematically refuting the false narratives of Russian propaganda about the so-called “denazification” of Ukraine from the very beginning of the full-scale war. In his words, there was and is no basis for such claims, either then or now. “I have said that Ukraine is a democratic country, where there is freedom of religion, speech, and the press. And all nations have lived and continue to live freely here: whether Jews, or Russians, or Tatars, or others. And no one asked Russia to come and ‘denazify’,” the spiritual leader emphasized. He also noted that the Ukrainian parliament does not include any nationalist parties in its composition, which makes the propaganda thesis of a “Nazi regime” internally contradictory.
Reaction to Resonant Judicial Episodes
A separate part of the interview is devoted to the principled distinction between the official position of the Jewish community and the private actions of its representatives. Asman reacted sharply to the events involving the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC), when Rabbi Yonatan Markovich publicly expressed his readiness to take on bail responsibility for former Deputy Head of the President’s Office Iryna Mudra. In the Chief Rabbi’s assessment, this was an exclusively personal initiative by Markovich, not reflecting the position of the entire Jewish community of Ukraine. Asman emphasized that using religious status in high-profile court proceedings is a mistaken blending of roles and cannot be regarded as the position of the community as a whole.
Antisemitism: Comparison with the West
In the course of the same conversation, the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine assessed the level of antisemitism in the country as significantly lower than in the United States and European countries. This statement, made in the RBC-Ukraine interview, was further confirmed in a separate article by the outlet, in which Asman directly pointed to the statistical and social superiority of the Ukrainian environment in terms of tolerance toward the Jewish population. Thus, the propaganda narrative of a “Nazi Ukraine” is not only unsupported by the legislation and political structure of the state, but is also refuted by the actual level of interethnic and interreligious coexistence.
Diplomatic Activity and International Context
Beyond his domestic position, Asman is actively engaged in diplomatic activities to support Ukraine on the international arena. In the major interview, he spoke in detail about his work with American elites, about the consequences of the war between Israel and Iran for Ukraine, and about organizing the visit of Pastor Mark Burns from the spiritual council of U.S. President Donald Trump. These initiatives demonstrate that the Jewish community of Ukraine is not only a domestic institution but also an active participant in international dialogue, shaping public opinion in key allied countries.
Recognition of Volunteer Work
For his systematic volunteer work and for drawing global attention to Russian aggression, Moshe Reuven Asman was awarded the Order “For Merit,” II class. The award became confirmation that the public position of the spiritual leader goes beyond confessional activity and makes a substantial contribution to information resistance and diplomatic support of the state amid the ongoing conflict.
