Hasidim in Uman 2026: in Vinnytsia region, the safety of the route for more than 30 thousand pilgrims from Israel was discussed

Why is the safety of pilgrims in Uman discussed not in Uman, but in Vinnytsia region? More than 30,000 Hasidim from Israel alone must navigate a complex route from airports in Moldova and Romania, Polish railways, and the Ukrainian border — and it is already known when the mass movement will begin.

Uman is located in the Cherkasy region. But on August 14, 2026, a meeting on the safety of tens of thousands of Hasidim traveling there for Rosh Hashanah was held in the neighboring Vinnytsia region.

At first glance, the geography seems strange. In fact, it explains how much the trip from Israel to Rabbi Nachman’s grave has changed since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

At the Center for National Cultures of Vinnytsia representatives gathered from the regional military administration, police, border and other services, the Jewish religious community, and organizations accompanying the pilgrims. The reason is quite practical: according to preliminary estimates, in 2026, more than 30,000 pilgrims are expected from Israel alone, and a significant part of this flow will pass through the Vinnytsia region. The mass arrival is expected to begin on September 6, although Rosh Hashanah itself will begin on the evening of September 11.

And here the story becomes more interesting than another news headline “Hasidim are going to Uman again.”

A year ago, I wrote for NANovosti about how pilgrims from Israel had to travel through Romania after problems with Moldovan transit. A few days ago, I examined another side of the same story — the “alternative Uman” near Kinneret, which is being prepared for those who will stay in Israel this year. Therefore, I compared the message from the Vinnytsia region not only with last year’s scheme but also with the decisions of Ukrainian services in recent weeks.

There was an important difference. On July 14, Ukraine still did not know which routes the main flow would take. By August 14, the route was already beginning to appear on the map.

A month ago, the routes could not yet be predicted.

On July 14, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience held an interdepartmental meeting on Uman. At that time, a representative of the State Border Guard Service, Mykola Savchenko, said that it was difficult to determine the main route in advance: the situation with Israel’s air traffic and security issues could change plans almost at the last moment.

Ukraine was preparing to use 21 checkpoints for the entry and exit of pilgrims, but which corridor would become the main one was still unclear. At that time, it was also reported about the preparation of an operational headquarters in Uman and 16 mediators who were supposed to help Ukrainian law enforcement work with the pilgrims.

Exactly a month passed.

And in the message from the Vinnytsia region on August 14, there are no longer general words about “various routes,” but a specific road scheme.

Some Israelis are supposed to fly to airports in Moldova and Romania, from there move to the Ukrainian border, cross it through checkpoints within the Mohyliv-Podilskyi district, and continue their journey towards Uman.

Another flow is expected through Poland — with further movement by rail. In addition, organized groups that entered Ukraine through other regions will pass through the Vinnytsia region.

That is, the map has become significantly more specific in a month.

Why Vinnytsia at all, if everyone is going to Uman

For an Israeli passenger, the word “Uman” usually denotes the final destination. For Ukrainian police and border guards, Uman begins much earlier.

It begins where the plane from Tel Aviv lands not in Ukraine.

After the closure of Ukrainian civilian airspace due to Russia’s full-scale invasion, the pilgrimage lost its previous simple scheme: plane — Ukrainian airport — bus — Uman. Now the road is divided into several sections, and a significant part of the problems arises even before a person sees the Cherkasy region.

And it is here that Vinnytsia turns from a “neighboring region” into one of the nodes of the entire operation.

Look at the Mohyliv-Podilskyi district on the map. Behind it is the Moldovan direction. If dozens of buses with passengers from airports in Moldova and Romania simultaneously go through these crossings, local services will have to solve quite earthly tasks: border processing, queues, bus movement, road safety, night restrictions, group escort.

Not abstract “pilgrimage safety,” but thousands of passports, buses, and hours of movement.

And suddenly Moldova reappears on the map

For NANovosti readers, this detail is especially noticeable.

In September 2025, we analyzed the situation with the closed Moldovan transit. At that time, Romania became the main option for many Israeli pilgrims: flights were directed to Iasi, after which the road continued by land.

Now we read the official plan of the Vinnytsia region for 2026 — and Moldova is again next to Romania.

This does not yet provide grounds to write that all last year’s problems between Israel and the Moldovan side have been finally resolved. The message does not contain any agreement, schedule of Israeli charters, or confirmation of the specific number of flights through Chisinau.

But for editorial chronology, the change is important.

In September 2025, R. Verter wrote: the Moldovan route fell out, pilgrims are moving to Romania.

On July 14, 2026, Ukrainian border guards said: it is still unknown which routes will become the main ones.

On August 14, the Vinnytsia region is already preparing to receive the flow from both Moldovan and Romanian airports.

This is not proof of a final agreement with Chisinau. But it is no longer a theoretical option on the map.

Ukrainian services are incorporating it into real preparation.

September 6: a date not in the holiday calendar

Rosh Hashanah 5787 will begin on the evening of September 11 and end on September 13. These are the dates an Israeli will see when planning the holiday.

The Vinnytsia police have a different calendar.

September 6 marks the beginning of the mass arrival.

Five days of difference explain a lot. You cannot bring more than 30,000 people from one country in a few hours, process them at the border, and simultaneously send them to a small Ukrainian town.

The flow has to be stretched.

Some will arrive earlier. Others later. Some will go through the southern border. Others through Poland. Somewhere passengers will transfer from a plane to a bus, somewhere to a train. Then the same system will have to be practically reversed after the holiday.

Therefore, the meeting in Vinnytsia is not preparation for a religious ceremony as such.

It is preparation for the movement of people.

The curfew will not be canceled for the sake of pilgrimage

At the meeting, they separately discussed the procedures at the state border, coordination of transport flows, road safety, and public order.

Two more points sound especially specific for an Israeli traveler: curfew and the prohibition on transporting prohibited items and substances.

Acting head of the Department for Nationalities and Religions of the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration Yulia Mandryka explained the task of the authorities quite accurately: the movement of pilgrims should remain organized and controlled, and the services should act in coordination.

From the Jewish community, the president of the Rabbi Nachman Foundation, Natan Ben-Nun, participated in the meeting. He stated that the organizers would strive to ensure that the pilgrims themselves comply with the rules.

This agreement seems technical until you remember which country the passengers are going to.

Ukraine is not living in a festival mode. It is living under martial law.

Ukraine simultaneously asks not to come and prepares the road for those who will

On July 29, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry did what it had to do from a security standpoint: it urged Hasidic pilgrims to refrain from traveling to Uman in 2026.

NANovosti has already written about this warning from Ukraine. Kyiv emphasized that during the ongoing Russian aggression, it is impossible to guarantee full security for foreigners. Pilgrims were reminded of air raids, curfews, limited shelter and medical infrastructure.

Two weeks later, the Vinnytsia region is discussing how to pass more than 30,000 Israelis through its territory.

These are not two contradictory policies.

The state is simply forced to work with two realities simultaneously.

The first: the trip is indeed dangerous, and Ukraine officially recommends refraining from it.

The second: tens of thousands of people are still planning to come.

The second reality requires buses, border guards, and police regardless of how convincing the first warning was.

What the full-scale Russian invasion changed

The pilgrimage itself was neither created nor stopped by Russia. The tradition is much older than the current war.

But it was the Russian full-scale invasion that changed the physical architecture of the road.

Until relatively recently, an Israeli could perceive the journey to Rabbi Nachman mainly as a matter of a ticket, transfer, and accommodation. Now this trip involves the borders of several countries, closed Ukrainian skies, possible changes in flights, air raids, curfews, and Ukrainian security forces.

One figure from the Vinnytsia message clearly shows the scale of the changes: more than 30,000 from Israel alone. And this is without the final count of pilgrims from other countries.

Thirty thousand is no longer a group that can simply be explained a new route in Telegram.

For Ukraine, this is a transport flow.

And some Israelis will stay home this year

In 2026, another unusual detail emerged.

While the Ukrainian side is preparing to pass tens of thousands of pilgrims through Vinnytsia, in northern Israel, they are preparing their own large “Rosh Hashanah kibbutz” near Kinneret. NANovosti talked about the “alternative Uman” in Yavne’el: organizers plan to synchronize prayers, meals, and other elements of the holiday with what is happening near Rabbi Nachman’s grave.

People have different reasons.

For some, it’s safety. For others, the complexity and cost of the road. For some young men in the Haredi community, an additional factor is their draft status in Israel.

But the scale of Vinnytsia’s preparation simultaneously shows the limit of this alternative.

Yavne’el can gather hundreds of people.

Ukraine is now preparing the movement of tens of thousands.

So, Uman has not disappeared.

One month — and the real road is already visible

If you put three dates side by side, it becomes clearer why this article is needed at all.

July 14. Ukrainian services begin interdepartmental preparation, talk about 21 border crossings, and warn: the main route is still difficult to determine.

July 29. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry advises pilgrims not to come due to the war and the inability to guarantee safety.

August 14. In the Vinnytsia region, the administration, police, border guards, and representatives of the Jewish community are already sitting at the same table. They are talking not about a hypothetical autumn flow, but about more than 30,000 people from Israel, the start of mass movement on September 6, airports in Moldova and Romania, the Mohyliv-Podilskyi district, and trains through Poland.

There are just over three weeks left until the first mass arrival.

And therefore, the news from Vinnytsia is more important than it seems from its official headline.

They did not discuss whether the Hasidim would go to Uman.

Judging by the scale of preparation, Ukrainian services are already assuming that they will go.

Now the question is different: through which border, by what transport, at what time — and what will happen on the road if the war intervenes again.

It is this road that is now being prepared in Vinnytsia.