Hundreds of Hasidic Jews were stranded on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border on their way to a pilgrimage in Ukraine after being returned to the border for coronavirus reasons.
A video posted through the Ukrainian Border Guard Service showed pilgrims, many of them families with children, Ukrainian border guards at the Novi Yarylovychy border crossing.
The Jasidic pilgrims make a stopover in the Ukrainian city of Ouman for a year to stop at the tomb of a famous Rabbi on Jewish New Year’s Day, Rosh Hashaná, but the Ukrainian government has banned them this year because of the virus.
The mayor of Ouman had personally camped outdoors in Ukraine’s presidential workplace in August in the lobby for the access ban.
After they were denied access to Ukraine, pilgrims blocked the road to the border on Monday, interrupting transport.
The head of Ukraine’s border guard service reportedly addressed the pilgrims and warned them that they opposed any attempt to enter Ukraine illegally, while security forces reserve groups were called to the border.