As thousands of Israelis descend on Uman, Russia and Ukraine engage in propaganda battle

Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of planning false flag attacks

A Ukrainian intelligence service is warning of a planned Russian attack on the Jewish pilgrims who traveled to the city of Uman in Ukraine, the gravesite of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.

The report was issued by the Israel Hayom news outlet on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week issued a warning to the thousands of Israelis planning to travel to Uman over Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Ukrainian authorities are now warning that Russia might plan a terror attack in Uman as a false flag operation, following Russian state media warnings that Ukraine is planning to carry out an attack in order to blame Russia for it.

“The Center for the War on Disinformation calls on the public not to fall for foreign manipulations, to listen to the air bomb alarms, to follow the security regulations and to rely only on tested and reliable sources,” Ukrainian authorities stated.

Despite the war, 30,000 #Jewish pilgrims are expected to visit Rabbi Nachman's tomb in Uman #Ukraine for the #Jewish New Year

The flight attendant is well versed in the songs and joins the festivities on the flight there 😊pic.twitter.com/F503GqNWZ7
— Zechariah Shar'abi | זכריה | زكريا (@ZechariahSharab) September 13, 2023

Ukrainian and Israeli authorities boosted security measures in preparation for the annual pilgrimage.

“A special regime of entry and exit and movement around the city has been introduced,” said Igor Taburets, the head of the Cherkasy region, where Uman is located.

“Despite warnings from diplomatic services and the regional administration, we have already had more than 3,000 pilgrims,” Taburets noted, according to Israel's i24 news.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Kyiv has cautioned Jewish pilgrims against traveling to Uman which, despite its safe distance from the frontlines, has been targeted by Russian attacks.

A Russian missile attack in April killed over 20 people when a cruise missile hit a residential building in the city.

A nightly curfew is currently in place, and Taburets said it will continue to be implemented throughout the holiday, which begins on Friday evening.