More than 2,000 Hasidic Jewish pilgrims accumulated Wednesday on the closed border between Ukraine and Belarus, sparking clashes with border guards and fueling tensions between the two countries.
The Ukrainian government on Wednesday accused its Belarusian counterparts of giving false hope to pilgrims. They had “believed in rumors” about entry into Ukraine despite strict restrictions similar to coronaviruses, according to Kiev.
Tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews to the central Ukrainian city of Ouman every new Jewish year, september 18-20 this year, to make a stop at the tomb of Rabbi Nachman, founder of Breslov’s Jasidism.
Ukraine has banned foreigners from entering until the end of September due to an increase in COVID-19 cases.
Believers ignored warnings from the governments of Ukraine and Israel and tried to circumvent restrictions by traveling through Belarus.
Pilgrims hoped to circumvent COVID-19 restrictions, but the borders remained closed.
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Pilgrims, from countries such as France, the United States and Israel, are lately among the border checkpoints after Belarus let them through.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers have deployed to Ukraine in northern Chernigiv, a correspondent from the AFP news firm reported on site.
“I respect their traditions and customs, but this year he won’t be able to move on to Ouman. I am in a position to repeat it a thousand times if necessary,” Ukrainian border guard leader Sergiy Deyneko told pilgrims in an official video. Wednesday.
“We call on the Belarusian government to avoid creating more tension at the border,” said one member of the Ukrainian presidency.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been the target of recent mass protests against the government, has proposed a transit room through buses for pilgrims to succeed in Ukraine’s holy sites.
The incident amid strained ties between Belarus and Ukraine after Lukashenko accused Kiev of sizing political unrest in his country. Thousands of others have taken to the streets for normal protests in recent weeks after Lukashenko’s re-election in questionable polls.
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Kiev temporarily withdrew its ambassador after the election and then said the elections were organized “in a dubious way,” a slight complaint compared to those of the EU or other neighbouring countries.
Ukraine and Belarus have said they will take care of the pilgrims, but those on the border say they ran out of blood and hungry.
kmm / msh (AFP, dpa)