A Russian rocket hit the Jewish cemetery in Kharkov – Ukraine’s second-largest city – over Shabbos, causing severe damage to several matzeivos. The city’s chief rabbi and shliach, Rabbi Moshe Moskovitz, visited the site of the strike and said Tehillim l’ilui nishmas the Yidden whose matzeivos were damaged. The Jewish community of Kharkov, together with the municipality, will repair the damage at the cemetery.

This is not the first time a Jewish religious site in Kharkiv has been damaged as a result of Russian missile fire. In March 2022, a rocket struck the yeshiva building of the Tzeirei Kharkov community, causing extensive damage. A few days earlier, several windows of the city’s Great Shul – the second-largest in all of Europe – were shattered by the shockwave of a missile that exploded in a nearby mall.

At that time, Rabbi Moskovitz said: “At the earliest opportunity, we will rebuild, repair, and strengthen all the mosdos, and we will expand every activity with full force. We are continuing to evacuate the Jews of the community from the city, while at the same time providing shelter, food, and medication to the Jews who remain.”

Over the past three months, Jewish religious buildings – as well as private property belonging to rabbonim – have repeatedly been hit by rockets and UAVs. The Federation of Jewish Communities in Ukraine (FJCU) released this statement:

“This is the seventh strike on the Jewish community in Ukraine in the past two months by the Russians. Recently, the Odessa shul was struck by a missile, the home of the shliach in Dnipro, Rabbi Moshe Weber, was damaged, the cemetery in Pervomaisk sustained damage, the car of the chief rabbi of Kherson, Rabbi Yossi Wolf, was hit, and the Kherson shul was struck twice by rockets. There must be an end to Russian terror, which is causing loss of life and extensive damage throughout Ukraine. We pray for peace and for the Geula.”