113-year-old Ukrainian synagogue damaged by Russian shelling — local reports

A Russian shell struck a 113-year-old synagogue in the eastern Ukrainian city of Huliaipole yesterday, damaging the building, local media reports.

A photograph of the damage, which was shared by the city’s historical society, shows a large hole in one of the building’s brick walls.

“The city continues to be destroyed daily. The destruction of the historical part of the city is catastrophic,” the group says.

????????Оккупационные войска ударили по синагоге в Гуляйполе

Это здание постройки 1909 года регулярно страдает от российских обстрелов. pic.twitter.com/6x9FlRXRr3

— Serg (@NHunter007) January 31, 2023

One of Ukraine’s chief rabbis, Moshe Asman, furiously condemns the strike on the synagogue. “In a normal world, it should be accepted that holy places are out of bounds, but even this agreement has been violated by the Russians. I expect leaders of the world to fiercely denounce this criminal act,” he says in a statement.

MK Ze’ev Elkin, who immigrated to Israel from Ukraine, also denounces the strike, noting that his family originally hails from Huliaipole and used to pray at the synagogue.

“How sad and infuriating. Striking holy places and houses of prayer, even during war, is an event that must be condemned clearly and we must demand that it not occur again,” Elkin says in a tweet.