A Russian missile struck the Jewish cemetery in the city of Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv region, southeastern Ukraine, setting off multiple fires at the site. Footage circulating from the scene shows flames spreading across several sections of the cemetery.
The missile hit the “Bahapoly” cemetery, the largest of the city’s five Jewish burial grounds. The cemetery is named after the town of Bahapoly, which later became a neighborhood of Pervomaisk. Before the Holocaust, the town was home to some 30,000 Jews. Several prominent rabbis are buried there, including Rabbi Yisrael the Holy of Bahapoly and Rabbi Mordechai of Talna, though it remains unclear whether their graves were damaged.
Chabad emissaries Rabbi Levi Yitzchak and Chana Perlstein re-established Jewish life in Pervomaisk in 2004, reopening the synagogue and reviving the community. Today, the city counts around 2,000 Jews, and a new mikveh is expected to be inaugurated next month.
Local rabbinical leadership reported that firefighters arrived to extinguish the blazes, which caused significant damage to gravestones. “We are working to assess the damage and ensure the sanctity of the cemetery is preserved,” the rabbi said. “We are here on the mission of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and nothing will deter us or our fellow emissaries serving across Ukraine with devotion.”
Rabbi Mayer Stambler, Chairman of the Jewish Communities in Ukraine, condemned the strike:
“This is the fourth attack on the Jewish community in Ukraine within a month. Just last week, the synagogue in Odesa was damaged; three weeks ago, the home of Rabbi Moshe Weber, a Chabad emissary in Dnipro, was struck; and shortly before that, the car of Rabbi Yossi Wolf, Chief Rabbi of Kherson, was hit directly by a drone. Thank God, miraculously, there were no casualties in any of these cases. A stop must be put to Russian terror, which continues to cause loss of life and devastation across Ukraine. We pray for peace and redemption”.
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