The Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center announced Thursday it had suspended its strategic partnership with Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch who has faced sanctions abroad since the Ukraine invasion.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Last month, the museum said Abramovich's pledged funding would strengthen its endeavors in the areas of Holocaust research and remembrance. However, on Thursday, Britain imposed a travel ban and asset freezes on seven wealthy Russians, including Abramovich, who owns the Premier League soccer club Chelsea
Britain said Abramovich was banned from visiting the country and barred from transactions with British individuals and businesses.
Also on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked to address Yad Vashem about Russia's invasion of his country, during which both sides have invoked the Nazi genocide.
The museum said in a statement on Thursday it would discuss the proposal with Ukraine's Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk on Sunday. The Ukrainian embassy could not immediately be reached for comment.
Zelenskyy has sought to drum up support with video briefings of foreign audiences that have included the US Congress and the British House of Commons and has even asked to address the Knesset.
Moscow said it aims to "denazify" Ukraine, a claim rejected as nonsense by Kyiv and Western countries. Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, said Russian shelling close to Babi Yar – a Holocaust memorial in the Ukrainian capital – on March 3 suggested that "history [was] repeating [itself]."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
