Jewish Ukrainians want the world to know that their country does not have a significant Nazi problem and that attempts to smear Kyiv as a Nazi-led regime are nothing more than “Russian propaganda.” The Nazi myth has infuriated Ukraine’s Jews. Not only does it ignore their voices. It puts Jewish lives in danger.

Before Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in February, vibrant Jewish communities could be found in most major Ukrainian cities. They might have been a shadow of their pre-Holocaust selves, but they were much larger than official statistics suggested. Take Odesa. Before the Holocaust, one-third of the city’s population was Jewish. But Ukraine’s last census, which was conducted in 2001, counted only 12,000 Jews (1.2% of the city’s population). Local Jewish leaders, however, estimate the real figure is about 50,000, based on conversations with local synagogues and the fact that, before the war, Odesa’s main Jewish newspaper was delivered to 20,000 households.