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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) \u2014 Servicemen, veterans and others gathered Thursday in Kyiv to remember the adopted son of Ukraine\u2019s chief rabbi, Moshe Azman, who was killed in battle, in a funeral service underlining unity among Ukraine’s diverse communities in the fight against Russia’s invasion.<\/p>\n
Anton Samborskyi, 32, was reported missing in late July, and his death was confirmed after weeks of uncertainty. The service took place at the Central Synagogue of Kyiv, followed by a burial at the city\u2019s Jewish cemetery.<\/p>\n
Rabbi Azman, who adopted Samborskyi when he was a 10-year-old orphan, shared his grief publicly, referring to his son by his chosen Jewish name, Matityahu or \u201cMoty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Azman wrote in a post on social media that Samborskyi had a daughter in May, but he was drafted into the army a week after the baby was born. He said the last time he spoke to his son was on July 17.<\/p>\n
About 100 mourners, including servicemen and veterans in uniform, many holding flowers and wearing yarmulkes \u2013- some with a camouflage design \u2013- gathered for the service. Mourners filed past the closed casket, which was draped with a tallit, or Jewish prayer shawl, and hugged Azman and his relatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went to the front voluntarily \u2026 as someone who wanted to defend his country. That\u2019s why he joined an assault brigade,\u201d David Milman, a Jewish army chaplain who attended the service, told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n
Ukraine has a centuries-old Jewish heritage, with Jewish communities playing a significant role in the country\u2019s cultural and religious history, despite periods of persecution. Its Jewish population was decimated during the Holocaust in World War II.<\/p>\n
Jews currently make up an estimated 0.2% of the country\u2019s population, including its wartime president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.<\/p>\n
Olena Tolkachova, a member of an assault brigade fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine, said that volunteers from all parts of society had joined the fight against Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is very important for Ukraine, because not only Ukrainians from the mainstream are fighting for our country, but different ethnicities and different religious groups \u2014 Orthodox and Catholics, Jews, and representatives of the Islamic faith,\u201d she told the AP after the service.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis position was very simple: he was very pro-Ukraine and wanted to help,” she said. ___<\/p>\n
Follow AP\u2019s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/russia-ukraine<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n