By: Chabad.org & INN Staff
A Jewish man in his 40s was killed today while attempting to flee Ukraine for Moldova. The man, identified as 41-year-old Roman Brodsky, an Israeli citizen and father of two, was killed when his car—part of a 12-person, two-car convoy headed to Moldova—was fired upon. The circumstances of the killing remain unclear.
With Russia’s offensive on Ukraine intensifying, many families and the vulnerable are attempting to leave Ukraine via its western borders into Moldova, Poland or Romania.
Brodsky was killed about 20 miles out of Belaya Tserkov (Bila Tserkva), says Rabbi Meir Holtzberg, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Belaya Tserkov together with his wife, Brochah. Holtzberg spoke with Chabad.org from the basement of the Chabad center, where his family is sheltering together with several Jewish community members. “His body is right now 30 miles away from us, and we cannot do anything until the morning because of the curfew,” he says.
Belaya Tserkov is just 50 miles south of Kiev, the site of some of the heaviest fighting in recent days, and so is coming under heavy fire itself. “Just an hour ago [7 p.m. local time] a Sukhoi jet flew over the area and bombed our city,” Holtzberg says. “We’re sleeping in shelters.”
Chabad of Belaya Tserkov has been able to supply 400 local Jews with food, he says, while the community still conducted prayer services on Shabbat and Monday morning, before the situation worsened. “There are sirens each hour,” Holtzberg says. “The city is in darkness. We’re praying.”
Israel National News reported that Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Kunytskyi, a friend of Roman Brodsky argues that Israel should end its current diplomatic policy and take a clear side on the war in Ukraine.
“I served in the IDF, today I am a member of parliament in Ukraine and what is happening here is not at all similar to what has been happening in Israel for years,” he said in an interview with Kol Chai radio.
He said, “If Putin enters Ukraine and does what he wants – in the end the Europeans will have to fight Putin to stop him from moving on. In Israel, it should be understood that Putin is the new Nazi. A missile just hit Babyn-Yar.”
“There are few people here who understand what is happening, the majority do not know what a war is. Every day is a bigger disaster than the last, I talk to Knesset members in Israel every day and demand that they help. You have to decide who you are. All the countries are helping Ukraine and Israel. I have not heard clear things yet, but we will win in any case,” he added.
He was asked where he was and replied, “For me these days it’s like one long day, I do not know where I eat or sleep. I try to help people around, I am almost the only one here who knows what to do in such a situation because I served in the IDF. There are a lot of people here who are really scared, do not know what to do. I expect Israel to understand who Putin is and to say that he is the new Nazi. “
(Chabad.org & INN)
