- June 3, 2026
- 5:29 pm
- Ukraine
A meeting on Israel-Ukraine relations will be held in Kyiv
On June 24, 2026, in Kyiv, a new meeting of the project “Lecture at the Bar” will take place — a format that combines discussion on important topics with an informal atmosphere of live communication. The organizers are “Nativ” — the Israeli Cultural Center in Kyiv and the Jewish Student Cultural Center Hillel Kyiv / “Hillel Kyiv”.
The theme of the meeting sounds direct and symbolic: “Israel — Ukraine. Friendship between countries.”
For the Israeli audience, this wording is especially important. It is not just a diplomatic slogan, but a conversation between two societies that have gone through the heavy blows of war, terror, international pressure, and the constant search for allies in recent years.
Who will speak and why it matters
The speaker of the meeting will be Olga Vasilevskaya-Smaglyuk, a member of the Ukrainian parliament representing the 96th district. The focus of the conversation will be the relations between Ukraine and Israel, the role of parliamentarians, international support, and those topics that usually remain outside the dry official reports.
Participants are promised not a lecture in the classical sense, but a lively conversation.
This is an important detail. When it comes to Israel and Ukraine, it is too easy to fall into protocol, statements, diplomatic formulas, and cautious phrases. But the youth audience often needs a different format — honest, open, with the opportunity to ask questions and hear a human explanation of how politics affects real life.
What will be discussed: war, support, and balance between the two countries
The main line of the meeting is how Israel and Ukraine are going through the challenges of war. For Ukraine, it is the full-scale aggression of Russia, daily strikes on cities, the front, destroyed families, and the struggle for the survival of the state. For Israel, it is the war after October 7, Hamas terror, the threat from Iran and its allies, the pain of hostage families, the mobilization of society, and constant concern for security.
These experiences are not identical, but they are largely understandable to each other.
That is why the conversation about support between Kyiv and Jerusalem cannot be only diplomatic. Behind it are people, families, volunteers, communities, repatriates from Ukraine, Israelis of Ukrainian origin, Jewish youth, Ukrainian students, politicians, and activists who try to maintain the bridge between the two countries even when the interests of the states do not always perfectly align.
Parliamentary friendship as a real tool
A separate focus of the meeting is the work of parliamentarians of Ukraine and Israel on the international stage. The organizers announce a discussion on how the deputies of the two countries support each other and how this affects relations between the states.
There is also a question that deserves a separate discussion: why is the inter-parliamentary friendship group between Ukraine and Israel the largest in the Verkhovna Rada?
For readers of NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency, this topic is important not only as a political news item. It shows that Ukrainian-Israeli ties are held not only on official visits, statements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or individual crises but also on constant work within parliaments, public initiatives, and Jewish organizations.
Such a connection is especially noticeable in times of trials.
When Ukraine needs international support against Russian aggression, and Israel simultaneously defends itself from terrorist structures and pressure in international institutions, the conversation between the two countries becomes more complex. But it is in this complexity that the need for direct dialogue arises — without illusions, without resentment, but also without indifference.
Jewish memory, Chernobyl, and the question of personal choice
The program of the meeting also includes a more intriguing part: “Jewish Chernobyl,” the story of the last child of Chernobyl, and the connection of this story with Israel. The organizers do not disclose details in advance, leaving room for a live story.
Such a turn makes the meeting broader than a usual political discussion.
Chernobyl for Ukraine is not only the tragedy of the accident and evacuation. It is also a memory of people, cities, families, of a destroyed familiar life. For Jewish history, Chernobyl has an additional dimension: it is a place with a deep Hasidic tradition, with a heritage that connects Ukraine, the Jewish world, and Israel much deeper than it might seem at first glance.
Where to find balance if you care for Israel and Ukraine
One of the most important questions of the meeting is formulated almost personally: where to find balance between the interests of Ukraine and Israel if a person cares for both countries?
For many in Israel, this is not an abstraction.
There are people whose relatives live in Ukraine. There are repatriates who build a life in Israel but continue to worry about Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Kherson, or Zaporizhzhia. There are Israelis who help Ukraine humanitarianly, volunteer, collect aid, explain to the Israeli audience why Russian aggression is dangerous not only for Europe but also for the Middle East.
There is also the reverse side: Ukrainians who, after October 7, began to perceive Israeli pain, the threat of terror, and the price of national security differently.
Therefore, such a meeting in Kyiv is important not only for the youth aged 18 to 34, for whom the project is designed. It is important as a sign: the conversation between Israel and Ukraine continues, even when the political agenda becomes heavy, and the international situation requires caution.
Format and registration
The meeting will take place on June 24, 2026, at 18:30.
The venue will be announced personally by the organizers after registration confirmation. Participation is intended for an audience aged 18 to 34, and the number of places is limited.
Registration is mandatory:
https://forms.gle/ahgLxZqkwP4oJvv26
The project “Lecture at the Bar” is interesting precisely because it brings the conversation about Israel, Jewish culture, Ukraine, and international politics out of closed offices into the space of live communication. For the younger generation, this can be much more effective than a formal lecture: less distance, more questions, more personal involvement.
And perhaps it is precisely such conversations today that help maintain the main thing — the understanding that the ties between Israel and Ukraine are built not only between states but also between people.