Alexander Lutsenko, at The Blogs

Jun 4, 2026, 10:55 PM

‘For Assistance in the Defense of Kyiv’: Israel’s Ambassador Receives Award

On June 4, 2026, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko met with Israel’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, who is completing his diplomatic mission in the country, and presented him with the city’s badge of honor “For Assistance in the Defense...

Jun 1, 2026, 4:33 AM

Why Ukraine Proposes a Joint Historical Commission With Israel

The immediate reason for this essay is the dispute that erupted after Ukraine reburied Colonel Andriy Melnyk, one of the historical leaders of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The ceremony in Ukraine drew criticism from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign...

May 28, 2026, 11:57 PM

Ukraine, Israel, and the Conflict of Two Traumas: When Memory Becomes a Weapon

This is not just a dispute about Andriy Melnyk. It is not only about Yad Vashem. And it is not only about the Ukrainian website Myrotvorets placing Dani Dayan, the chairman of Yad Vashem, into its database after Yad Vashem and...

May 27, 2026, 3:52 PM

Ukraine Israel and the right to remember: Andriy Melnyk’s story needs no slogans

Ukraine did not wake up one morning and decide to stage a provocation against Israel. It did something much deeper, older, and more painful: it began returning its dead home. On May 25, 2026, Andriy Melnyk and his wife, Sofia Fedak-Melnyk,...

May 24, 2026, 11:35 PM

‘Do Not Forget the Sword’: Petliura, Ukraine and Israel

“Do Not Forget the Sword”: Why Symon Petliura Matters to Ukraine — and Why Israel Should Read This History Carefully.The image was created using AI.

On May 25, 1926, Symon Petliura was assassinated in Paris by Samuil Schwartzbard. Symon Petliura remains one of the most complex figures in Ukrainian history. For Ukraine, he symbolizes statehood, armed resistance and the struggle against Moscow. For Israel, his...

May 23, 2026, 6:07 PM

‘Jewish Vyshyvanka’ in Ukraine Was Not a Myth

Every year, on the third Thursday of May, Ukraine and Ukrainian communities around the world mark World Vyshyvanka Day. In 2026, the date carried additional symbolism: the holiday turned twenty. It began in 2006 at Chernivtsi National University and...

May 22, 2026, 12:20 AM

A Yeshiva in Anatevka: When Jewish Ukraine Builds the Future Under Fire

On May 18, 2026, the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine shared news that deserves more than a ceremonial headline. In Anatevka, a Jewish community near Kyiv opened what he described as the first higher Jewish religious educational institution of its...

May 20, 2026, 4:43 AM

Subedei, Moscow in flames, and Russia’s new medal for war

In Russia, the authorities have decided to establish an order named after Subedei — a 13th-century Mongol commander, one of the main military strategists of campaigns after which cities burned, principalities fell, and Moscow, in January 1238, was taken,...

May 19, 2026, 6:17 PM

‘Free Palestine’ as Russia’s Weapon: From the River to the Kremlin

"Free Palestine" is a weapon of Russia: why the slogan "From the river to the sea" is part of the Kremlin axis. There are slogans that sound humanitarian only until you look at how they are used, who amplifies them,...

May 17, 2026, 6:13 PM

After Israel, Turkey rejects Ukrainian grain stolen by Russia on PANORMITIS

There are ships that carry cargo. And there are ships that carry evidence. PANORMITIS, IMO: 9445021, now looks like the second kind. The bulk carrier left the anchorage of Turkey’s port of Iskenderun after previously failing to unload in Israel. On May...

About Me

Aleksandr Lutsenko is a commentator bridging Israeli and Ukrainian public discourse. He writes on shared history, Jewish life in Ukraine, Ukrainian integration in Israel, and the intersection of memory, identity, and security.

Contact Me