Joel Leon came out against the decision to call the stadium that will host the cup final named after Roman Shukevich, who is responsible for the deaths of Jews in the Holocaust
The stadium before its renovation
Photo:
From Twitter
Israel's ambassador to Ukraine, Joel Leon, sharply attacked the mayors of Ternopil after the council chose to name the recently renovated local football stadium and scheduled to host the Ukrainian Cup final after the war criminal who helped the Nazis in World War II - Roman Shukevich.
"We strongly condemn the decision of the City Council of Ternopil to name the municipal stadium after the commander of the Ukrainian militias in the infamous SS SS Roman," Leon wrote on Twitter, "and demand that this decision be revoked immediately," he added.
The recently renovated stadium holds a little over 15,000 spectators.
Confirmation that the stadium's name would be changed came following a city council meeting on March 5 - the 71st anniversary of Shukevich's death during a shootout with Soviet intelligence agents who raided Lviv's hideout in western Ukraine.
We strongly condemn the decision of #Ternopil city council to name the City Stadium after the infamous Hauptman of the #SS Schutzmannschaft 201 Roman #Shukhevych and demand the immediate cancellation of this decision.
@MFA_Ukraine @ternopil_rada @APUkraine pic.twitter.com/c7q2HRDSGl
- Joel Lion (@ambassadorlion) March 9, 2021
In 1940, Shukevich commanded the unit of the Ukrainian Nationalist Organization (OUN), which actively cooperated with the Nazis.
After the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, he became the commander of the Ukrainian "Nachtigal" battalion which was of course under German control.
Also, Shukevich is considered a hero by Ukrainian nationalists when many deny that the unit was involved in killing Jews.