Zelensky: Putin is ‘like the second king of antisemitism after Hitler’
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky responded by calling Russian leader Vladimir Putin “a disgrace to the Jewish people”, adding that the Russian leader is the second king of antisemitism after Hitler.
Zelensky, in an interview with the bbcAsked about Putin’s comments last week.
Zelensky, who is Jewish and has lost relatives in the Holocaust, is speechless and then says he was not sure how to answer the question.
“It seems like he doesn’t fully understand his words. Apologies, but it seems he is the second king of antisemitism after Hitler,” says Zelensky.
“This is a president speaking. A civilized world cannot speak like this. But it was important to me to hear the world’s reaction and I am grateful for the support.”
Putin claimed on Friday that Zelensky is seen by other members of the religion as a “disgrace” for his faith.
“I have a lot of Jewish friends,” Putin told an annual economic forum in St. Petersburg. “They say that Zelensky is not a Jew, that he is a disgrace to the Jewish people.”
“This is not a joke and not an attempt at irony, because today neo-Nazis, Hitler’s disciples, are held up as heroes of Ukraine,” Putin said, according to TASS Russian news agency.