In pics | Ukraine marks 82nd anniversary of Babyn Yar killings by Nazis in Kyiv
Ukraine marks 82nd anniversary of Babyn Yar killings
Ukraine, on Friday (Sep 29) marked the 82nd anniversary of a mass killing, mainly of Jews in Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
The small gathering also witnessed the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky who visited the site of the Babyn Yar massacre, one of the largest mass murders of Jews in the Holocaust.
What happened in Babyn Yar?
Between Sep 29 and 30, 1941, Nazi forces after occupying the Ukrainian capital - which was then part of the Soviet Union - during World War Two, shot dead nearly 34,000 Jewish men, women and children at Babyn Yar, a ravine on the outskirts of Kyiv.
Over the next two years, many more people were killed in Babyn Yar, mostly Jews but the victims also included Roma and non-Jewish Ukrainians, Poles and Russians.
Up to 100,000 people were killed there, as per news agency AFP including Jews, Roma, and Soviet prisoners of war.
Ukrainian president pays his respects
Ukraine president Zelensky, dressed in his usual olive-green attire, placed a candle at the historic site said Kyiv would "never" forget the tragedy perpetrated by Nazi Germany.
Notably, Zelensky is Ukraine's first ethnically Jewish president, although he is not publicly religious. Most of his grandfather's family was killed during World War Two.
'Never again'
"It is very important to always remember history, not to forget. Because 'Never again!' are not empty words," said Zelensky, speaking to a small group of people gathered at the monument including relatives and descendants of the victims and rabbis from Ukrainian cities.
He also took to social media later and in a statement said, "No matter how many years have passed, humanity will remember the lives taken by Nazism. And it will always remember that this evil was punished."
Ongoing Russia aggression
On this day, the Ukrainian foreign ministry urged the world to prevent such killings happening again and drew attention to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine which began 19 months ago.
"The memory of Babyn Yar and the slogan 'Never again' are the moral basis of humanism and opposition to any forms of aggressive-chauvinistic ideologies, in particular, Russian aggression against Ukraine," said ministry, in a statement.
'More emotional by the war': Ukrainian serviceman
A Ukrainian serviceman called Yurii with the call sign "Seff" (not in the image) said, "All our days of commemoration have been made more emotional by the war. It has sharpened our feelings, opened up our wounds. We have become more sensitive to justice, to pain, to memory, to love," as he took part in an annual march to monument.
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