Kyiv blames Russian security forces for antisemitic mob in Dagestan

Russian security forces were behind the antisemitic mob in Dagestan, charges Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk.

“They brought the security forces into the airport, but they were sitting aside and smoking cigarettes,” he tells The Times of Israel. “They did nothing.”

Korniychuk says pogroms against Jews were used by tsarist Russia to deflect anger over unemployment and poverty, and Moscow is using a similar tactic today.

“Now they have to explain to those younger people who is the one to be blamed in Russia because the economy is no good and there’s no jobs, especially in those regions in the Northern Caucasus as well as the rest of the republics,” he argues.

Korniychuk also says the riot was a predictable “next step” in the wake of Russia hosting Hamas leaders and failing to fully condemn the Hamas attacks on October 7.

The ambassador says a change in Israel’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war will be slow but “it will definitely take place because everybody understand who is the enemy and that Russia is basically on the same side with Iran and Hamas in this war.”

Korniychuk rejects Russian allegations that Kyiv was behind the incident in Dagestan’s main airport, saying “What else you can expect from the Russian propaganda?”

He adds that Ukrainian intelligence has been working with Israeli intelligence from “day one,” immediately after the Hamas invasion.