President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to make his first state visit as Israel's president to Ukraine in early October to participate in the events marking the 80th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacre in Ukraine, in tens of thousands of Jews were murdered during the early stages of World War II.
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The three-day trip starting next Tuesday is at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Herzog is scheduled to speak at the main ceremony in the capital Kiev at the under-construction Babyn Yar (Babi Yar) Holocaust Memorial, which when completed will be one of the world's largest Holocaust memorials stretching out over 370 acres.
"It is imperative to keep speaking about this horrific event and learn its lessons. The Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center is an important site for the commemoration of this painful memory and for the declaration that we must continue making together: Never again," Herzog said in a statement accepting Zelensky's invitation.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will also be attending the event and meeting with Herzog, who will also meet privately with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
His agenda also includes an address to Ukraine's legislature, Verkhovna Rada, and a meeting with members of Ukraine's Jewish community.
According to the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial, around 100,000 people were murdered by the Nazis at the ravine northwest of Kyiv, making it Europe's largest mass grave. A total of 33,771 Jewish victims were shot there over a two-day period on September 29 and 30, 1941. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians, Roma, and others were also shot at Babyn Yar.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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