Ukraine calls for further isolation of Russia after Lavrov's antisemitism remarks

The ministry said this in a statement posted on its website, Ukrinform reports.

"We express our solidarity with the Jewish people. We call on the governments of all countries to give a resolute response to Russia: to isolate it even more, to impose an embargo on Russian oil and gas, which will deprive the Russian military machine of financial resources, and to increase military, financial and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, whose people are now heroically resisting Russian evil," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

It noted that Lavrov's antisemitism comments about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Jews are absolutely unacceptable.

"Russia is already too deep in its nonsense, justifying its barbaric aggression against Ukraine. In fact, the Russian foreign minister questioned the existence of not only the Ukrainian nation but also the Holocaust. He deliberately offended the memory of millions of Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis during World War II," the statement read.

In this context, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry recalled a statement by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba who said that Putin's Russia is purposefully cultivating Russia's hatred towards other nations and called on the world to stop Russia together until its aggressive policies lead to even more catastrophic consequences.

In an interview with Italy's Mediaset broadcaster, Lavrov said that Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins and that the Jews the "biggest anti-Semites."

Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, noted that Russia's antisemitism is becoming increasingly apparent, and open aggression and disrespect for the historical memory of entire nations cannot go unanswered.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called Lavrov's statement "unforgivable and scandalous and a horrible historical error."