Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Monday, September 11, 2023

Ukraine boosts security in Uman as it prepares for influx of Jewish pilgrims

By AFP 11 September 2023, 3:40 pm 0 Edit

A scene from the Jewish celebration in the street in Uman, September 25, 2022. (David Saveliev/ JTA)

A scene from the Jewish celebration in the street in Uman, September 25, 2022. (David Saveliev/ JTA)

Ukraine has increased security in the city of Uman as Jewish pilgrims arrive there to spend Rosh Hashanah, despite warnings not to travel to the war-torn country.

“A special regime of entry and exit and movement around the city has been introduced,” says Igor Taburets, the head of the Cherkasy region, where Uman is located. He says nine checkpoints have been set up around the city, some 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Kyiv, to control the flow of people.

“Despite warnings from diplomatic services and the regional administration, we have already had more than 3,000 pilgrims,” Taburets says.