- February 12, 2026
- 5:22 pm
- Israel
The municipality of Netanya canceled an event featuring Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin after an official letter from the Ukrainian side and a public campaign by activists. The planned speech at the city planetarium sparked a sharp reaction among immigrants from Ukraine and their partners in Israel.
The story quickly went beyond a local cultural event and turned into a matter of political responsibility and sensitivity to the war.
Why the Ukrainian embassy intervened
The Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Israel reported on February 12, 2026, that diplomatic steps were taken immediately after information about Yurchikhin’s invitation appeared.
Ambassador Yevgeny Korniychuk sent an appeal to the newly elected mayor Avi Salama.
According to diplomats, the letter contained both congratulations on taking office and confirmation of readiness for working cooperation between Ukrainian cities and the municipality. But the key point was different.
The Ukrainian side emphasized that visits to temporarily occupied territories without coordination with Kyiv are considered a violation of the country’s sovereignty. This, according to diplomats, made the event extremely problematic.
Community reaction and public campaign
The news of the upcoming visit quickly spread through social networks and repatriate chats.
Activists from Israeli Friends of Ukraine launched appeals to the municipality, insisting that the city venue should not become a place for figures associated with the Russian state agenda.
The initiative was joined by public figures, journalists, and representatives of volunteer structures. The discussion was tough, sometimes emotional, but with a clear demand: to consider the context of the war.
It is in such moments, campaign participants note, that it is especially noticeable how local decisions affect trust between cities and diasporas. NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency has repeatedly written about such conflicts of memory and symbols when cultural formats suddenly become political.
What the cancellation means for relations between cities
Dnipro and Netanya have a twinning agreement. Delegations regularly meet, and educational and municipal projects continue even during wartime.
This summer, Dnipro Days are to be held in the Israeli city. Preparations for them are already being discussed, and community participation is expected to be broad.
Against this backdrop, the invitation of a person who visited occupied territories seemed, according to critics, at least inappropriate.
What is known about the final decision
According to information available to diplomats, the performance has been canceled.
The embassy thanked Israelis and Ukrainians who joined the explanatory work and dialogue with city authorities. Special words of gratitude were addressed to activists who took on the organization of the advocacy campaign.
However, monitoring of the situation will continue. Kyiv wants to be sure that the decision remains in force and the event does not return to the agenda in another form.
Why such stories repeat
Municipal posters are often formed without a deep analysis of the guests’ biographies. In peacetime, this would look like routine.
Now, however, every name is checked through the prism of war, trips to Crimea, Donbas, or other occupied territories. For the Ukrainian side, these are not abstract details but markers of legitimacy.
Therefore, even scientific or cultural lectures become the subject of diplomatic letters.
Context for Israel
Israel remains a space where hundreds of thousands of people with Ukrainian roots live. For them, symbolic issues are not theory but the personal history of families, relatives, and destroyed homes.
Municipalities increasingly find themselves between the desire for universality and the need to consider the pain of some of their residents.
The case in Netanya shows that the voice of the community can change decisions.
And at the same time demonstrates: the dialogue between Kyiv and Israeli cities remains operational, even when it comes to sensitive topics.
The story of the canceled performance is likely to become a guideline for other municipalities planning international events during the war.
