- March 8, 2025
- 12:07 am
- Israel
Added “spice” and tried his best a certain pro-Kremlin propagandist Mardan in his article from March 4, 2025, titled “The Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Gideon Saar promised to check information about the glorification of Stepan Bandera in Ukraine.”
By the way, no one hinted to him that Gideon Saar actually holds a completely different position and is not the “Israeli Ambassador to Moscow” (or maybe he doesn’t care…), so as of the morning of March 6, the article is still titled the same – perhaps something Israel’s Foreign Ministry should take note of.
The Russian propaganda machine once again tried to play on the theme of the Holocaust to drive a wedge between Ukraine and Israel. However, this manipulative tactic failed.
Why now? The Kremlin has repeatedly exploited the historical trauma of the Jewish people to promote its narrative of “Nazism” in Ukraine. But this time, Israeli diplomacy showed professionalism: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar gave a clear, diplomatic response that left no room for manipulation. He emphasized that Israel had previously condemned such phenomena and would do so again if necessary, without question.
Israel fully understands that Ukraine is currently fighting for its survival, and in times of war, diplomatic disputes are not a priority. As early as 2023, Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky explicitly stated that such issues should be discussed after the war. However, Russian propaganda is once again trying to impose its version of events, manipulating words and taking them out of context.
Now, let’s break down how precisely the Kremlin’s media attempted to create a “scandal” and why they failed.
What happened
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar held a weekly briefing for foreign journalists at the Israeli Foreign Ministry headquarters in Jerusalem on March 4, 2025.
He announced that in May, he would host a conference in Jerusalem for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), aimed at combating antisemitism, with foreign ministers from around the world participating.
In his speech, he stated:
“Antisemitism, which led to the Holocaust, has not been eradicated in the world.
On the contrary, over the past year and a half, we have witnessed its alarming rise, targeting both the Jewish people and the Jewish state. The new antisemitism attacks Israel’s right to exist and its right to self-defense.”
Then, during the media Q&A session, an incident occurred.
Present in the hall was Nick Kolyokhin (the Russian outlet “Izvestia” referred to him in their report as “our correspondent Nikita Kolyokhin, who even had to clarify his question…”).
Reference – About “Izvestia” – On November 9, 2023, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Canada included “Izvestia” in its sanctions list for Russian disinformation and war propaganda, citing “the spread of false narratives and propaganda, disguised as expert opinion, in an attempt to legitimize Russia’s unjustified violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
On May 17, 2024, the broadcasting of “Izvestia” was suspended in 27 EU countries, as the publication was deemed to “spread and support Russian propaganda and aggressive war against Ukraine”. The European Council, suspending several other media outlets, noted that these media “are under constant direct or indirect control of the Russian authorities, played a significant role in supporting Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine, as well as in destabilizing neighboring countries.”
On June 24, 2024, the company was added to the EU sanctions list.
Nick Kolyokhin calls himself an “Israeli international journalist” and, after a career in Israeli media, “began working as an independent freelance journalist.”
English Wikipedia states that Nick Kolyohin (Hebrew: ניק קוליוחין; Russian: Ник Колехин or Russian: Никита Валерьевич Кулюхин) is an Israeli-Russian international journalist, correspondent, TV journalist, videographer, and photojournalist.
Alright then…
The dialogue
A conversation took place between Nick Kolyokhin (NK) and Gideon Saar (GS) – conducted in English (video translated by RT, with its notorious grammar errors):
‘We will check it & if necessary, condemn’ – Israeli FM Gideon Saar is unaware of current Ukrainian regime GLORIFYING Nazi-era crimes of Stepan Bandera https://t.co/vyt1zaEszH pic.twitter.com/p9J3yVl65F
— RT (@RT_com) March 4, 2025
Key quotes from the dialogue:
NK: “Are you going to condemn Ukraine for glorifying Nazi collaborators from the Holocaust era, like Bandera, responsible for the deaths of many Jews?”
GS: “Who said this?”
NK: “About Bandera or in general?”
GS: “Yes, quote… Who said this?”
NK: “Yad Vashem, they have such historical records.”
GS: “First of all, we have condemned such statements before, but I have not heard…”
NK: “I haven’t finished my question. They renamed streets, even a boulevard near Babyn Yar in honor of Bandera, who is responsible for Babyn Yar. And they are demolishing Red Army monuments and replacing them with monuments to Bandera and Shukhevych. And Israel has been silent about this for years. What do you think about that?”
GS: “First of all, I didn’t know about this. I will check it. But you know this. You know it because you are asking the question. But… this is what you know. It’s clear. But we will check it, and if necessary, we will issue a condemnation, no problem. I want to check it. We will do it.”
End of conversation…
—
What happened next?
The official resources of Israel’s Foreign Ministry and Israeli media did not give any significance to this “dialogue” and did not publish it.
But… what happened in the Russian propaganda media?
Quotes:
“In Israel, they will check whether Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera is really glorified at the national level in Ukraine, said Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.”
“The Israeli Foreign Minister promised to study the data on the glorification of Bandera in Ukraine.”
“I didn’t know”: Israeli Foreign Minister promised to check the cult of Bandera in Ukraine.”
“What is the Israeli embassy in Kyiv doing then?” – wondered Zakharova, surprised by the ignorance of Israel’s Foreign Minister about the glorification of Bandera in Ukraine.”
And so on…
Zakharova’s reaction
Leading the “parade” was the tireless fighter against “Nazism, fascism, and the bloody Kyiv regime” – the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.
“Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar stated that he was unaware of Bandera’s glorification in Ukraine.
So how is that possible? What, then, is the Israeli embassy in Kyiv doing? And in Moscow too?
Have they never reported any facts to the capital?
We will present just a few of our many materials. Specially for the Israeli Foreign Minister – in English.”
Zakharova even “kindly” provided Saar with links to Russian propaganda media materials, which, in her opinion, should “enlighten” him.
The most enthusiastic effort was made by a certain propagandist Mardan, who in his article from March 4, 2025 titled “The Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Gideon Saar promised to check information about the glorification of Stepan Bandera in Ukraine,” again spread misinformation.
By the way, no one pointed out to him that Gideon Saar holds a completely different position and is not the “Israeli Ambassador to Moscow” (or maybe he doesn’t care…). As of the morning of March 6, the article is still titled the same – something Israel’s Foreign Ministry should probably take note of.
What does Israel say?
- 🟢 The official resources of Israel’s Foreign Ministry did not mention this “dialogue” at all.
- 🟢 Israeli media did not give this any attention.
- 🟢 Conclusion: Israel does not consider this issue significant.
Russian propaganda inflated this solely for domestic consumption.
How does such propaganda work?
- 📌 Step 1: Take an insignificant episode and take words out of context.
- 📌 Step 2: Inflate it into an “international scandal.”
- 📌 Step 3: Use state-controlled media like RT and “Izvestia” to spread a distorted version of events.
- 📌 Step 4: Involve officials (Zakharova, Mardan, and others) to give the “scandal” political weight.
- 📌 Step 5: Run a campaign on social media to create the illusion of widespread discussion.
Conclusions
- 1️⃣ Israel is not making a problem out of this event – its Foreign Ministry and media ignore the “sensation.”
- 2️⃣ Russia is trying to sow distrust between Israel and Ukraine, using the old “Bandera narrative.”
- 3️⃣ Russian media are lying, starting with Saar’s position and ending with the meaning of his words.
- 4️⃣ Any “news” from Russian media should be fact-checked, as it often turns out to be a propaganda fabrication.
👉 It is important to critically analyze information and not fall for manipulations.
NAnews‼️ – Israel News: Kremlin propaganda once again tried to play on the historical traumas of the Jewish people to drive a wedge between Israel and Ukraine but failed. Israel does not fall for Moscow’s manipulations and understands that the priority now is Ukraine’s victory, while historical issues can be discussed after the war.
