On May 21, 2026, the All-Ukrainian Forum of National Minorities, National Communities, and Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine was held in Kyiv. The event was timed to coincide with the Day of Interethnic Harmony and Cultural Diversity and gathered over 600 participants from different regions of the country.
The forum was not just an official meeting with speeches and a cultural program. In the context of war, it turned into a large conversation about how modern Ukraine is held together not by a single ethnic or linguistic line, but by the shared civic responsibility of people with different roots, different traditions, and different histories.
Among the participants were Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Greeks, Romanians, Poles, Jews, Hungarians, Germans, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Gagauz, Karaites, Koreans, Roma, Georgians, Czechs, and representatives of many other national communities and indigenous peoples of Ukraine. In separate announcements of the forum, Russians were also mentioned as one of the national communities of Ukraine, which is important to distinguish from the aggressor state of Russia and its war policies.
Religious leaders held a special place at the forum.
Representatives of different faiths, including the Jewish community, participated in the event. Kyiv Rabbi Avraham Bleich stated that it was a great honor for him to participate in the forum as part of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations of Ukraine. During the event, he offered a prayer for Ukraine — for peace, protection, a swift victory, and the end of the war.
Avraham Bleich — Kyiv Rabbi, head of the Jewish community “Orach Chaim.” In recent years, he has been actively involved in the public life of the Jewish community in Kyiv and in interfaith events related to supporting Ukraine during the war. He is the son of Rabbi Yaakov-Dov Bleich — one of the most well-known Jewish religious leaders in Ukraine. Yaakov-Dov Bleich received rabbinical ordination in the Orthodox environment, and the official pages of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations list him as the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine and the President of the Union of Jewish Religious Organizations of Ukraine.
“Different seeds in hands — but one spring in hearts”
The forum was held under the symbolic slogan: “Різні зерна в долонях — та одна весна в серцях.” In translation, this can be conveyed as: “Different seeds in hands — but one spring in hearts.”
This phrase well conveyed the atmosphere of the entire day. It was not just about cultural diversity as a beautiful showcase. The main idea was deeper: the different peoples of Ukraine are experiencing the war together, losing together, helping, serving, volunteering, praying, and continuing to build the future of the country.
The forum began in the Garden of National Harmony. Guests walked up the memory alley, passed through spring gaivki, received packets of “Blooming Ukraine” seeds and symbolic badges with grass seeds. This served as a reminder of a simple yet powerful thought: the future begins with a small seed that people grow together.
In this image, there was much of the Ukrainian military reality. The country, which Russia is trying to destroy with missiles, occupation, deportations, and propaganda, continues to plant trees, create new traditions, bring communities together, and talk about life after victory.
Rabbis, prayer, and the Jewish community of Ukraine
One of the most powerful moments of the forum was the interfaith prayer for Ukraine. Representatives of different religions — Christians, Muslims, the Jewish community — prayed together for peace, for people, for defenders, and for the country.
It was here that Rabbi Avraham Bleich’s participation became especially important. He spoke not as an outside observer, but as part of the Ukrainian religious and public space. His prayer for Ukraine was heard alongside the prayers of representatives of other faiths, giving the forum a special moral strength.
In his message, Rabbi Bleich emphasized that it was valuable for him to see religious leaders of different communities and faiths standing together. According to him, such meetings remind us of how important it is to remain united and support each other in difficult times.
For the Israeli audience, this episode has a separate significance. The Jewish community of Ukraine today exists not apart from the war. It lives within the Ukrainian reality: under air raids, among evacuations, losses, volunteer assistance, prayers, community work, and support for people in need of protection.
NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency notes: the participation of rabbis in such a forum breaks the usual propaganda schemes that Russia has been trying to manipulate with the topic of Ukraine, Jewish history, and memory of the past for years. The real picture is quite different: Jewish religious leaders in Ukraine openly pray for the country, for its protection, and for victory over the aggressor.
Why this is important right now
The war has changed the meaning of many public events.
Previously, a forum of national communities might have been perceived as a cultural event where different peoples showcase their songs, cuisine, costumes, and traditions. Today, all this remains, but it has acquired a different weight.
When military personnel, volunteers, diplomats, state representatives, youth leaders, religious figures, and national communities meet on one platform, it is not just about culture. It is about who together holds the country during the most challenging period of its modern history.
At the forum, personal stories of military personnel of different nationalities who are defending Ukraine today were heard. They spoke about brotherhood, home, support, about how the war brings people closer together and makes them look differently at the concept of a common country.
This is important for both Ukraine, and for Israel. Ukraine shows that its strength is not in unification, but in the ability of different people to stand together. The Israeli audience understands well that a multilingual and multicultural society during war can only be strong when it has a common sense of destiny.
Garden of Interethnic Harmony, memory, and culture in the open air
The central symbol of the forum was the Garden of Interethnic Harmony. This space was established last year during the first official celebration of the Day of Interethnic Harmony and Cultural Diversity. In 2026, participants continued the tradition and planted new trees together.
This gesture was understood without lengthy explanations.
Different communities planted trees as a sign of common land, common roots, and a common future for Ukraine. In the context of war, such symbolism sounds stronger than usual: while Russia brings destruction, Ukraine demonstratively plants life.
A separate symbol of the day was the Bukovinian memorial tree brought by representatives of the Romanian community. On its branches was bread — a sign of memory, home, human warmth, and gratitude to those who are defending Ukraine today.
Throughout the day, national locations operated at the forum, where cultural traditions, art, and cuisines of different peoples were presented. Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Jewish, Georgian, Polish, Korean, Gagauz, Czech, Armenian, German, Crimean Tatar, Greek, and Moldovan motifs were heard.
At first glance, songs, dances, and national dishes may seem like a festive part of the program. But this was the strength of the forum: people got to know each other not only through official speeches but also through taste, music, hospitality, conversations, and joint presence.
Who participated in the forum
The forum was attended by representatives of state authorities, public organizations, the diplomatic corps, national communities, and indigenous peoples of Ukraine.
Among the participants were the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience Viktor Yelensky, the first deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Kornienko, the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language Olena Ivanovska, the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, the head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov, the permanent representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Olga Kurishko, and members of parliament Tamila Tasheva, Yulia Gryshina, and Anton Kisse.
But, as participants noted, the main thing on this day was not positions and statuses. The main thing was the feeling of live human support — without distance, without cold formality, with a large number of meetings, conversations, and personal stories.
Forum as a response to Russian propaganda
This forum became an important response to one of the central myths of Russian propaganda.
For years, Moscow has tried to portray Ukraine as a country where different communities supposedly cannot live together, where there is an artificial conflict of identities, and where the state is allegedly unable to unite people.
But the reality shown in Kyiv looks different. Today, Ukraine brings together Crimean Tatars, Jews, Roma, Armenians, Poles, Romanians, Bulgarians, Koreans, Georgians, Germans, Gagauz, Czechs, and many other communities in one space. They not only demonstrate culture. They participate in the war, volunteer, defend the country, pray for victory, and talk about the future after the liberation of the occupied territories.
The finale of the forum was especially symbolic. Volunteers took to the stage with flower seeds and talked about how these flowers will grow after victory — in Kharkiv, Donbas, Kherson, Bessarabia, Transcarpathia, Polesia, and free Crimea.
In this phrase was the entire logic of the event. The forum was not about the past and not only about today’s resistance. It was about the future of Ukraine as a country of different roots, different voices, and a common home.
For the Jewish community of Ukraine, participation in such an event is yet another confirmation of its active role in Ukrainian history right now. For Israel, it is a reason to look more closely at Ukraine not through old stereotypes, but through the real picture of war, solidarity, and responsibility.
In Kyiv on May 21, rabbis prayed for Ukraine together with representatives of other religions. National communities planted trees, remembered defenders, talked about home, sang their songs, and shared bread. In wartime, this is no longer just a cultural gesture. It is a statement that Ukraine remains a country where different peoples can be together — not only in celebration but also in the struggle for life.
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