Hundreds of Jewish Pilgrims Stranded at Ukraine-Belarus Border Due to COVID-19 Restrictions

Around 1,000 Hasidic Jewish pilgrims remained stranded at the Ukrainian border on September 16 as they were blocked from entering the country from Belarus due to COVID-19 restrictions.

In a Facebook post, the Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry said around 1,000 pilgrims had refused to turn back and remained at the border.

The pilgrims were attempting to enter Ukraine to celebrate the Jewish new year by visiting the burial place of Rabbi Nachman, who founded the Breslov Hasidic movement.

The State Border Guard said the situation remained “under control” by September 16 and volunteer and religious organizations were distributing food. Credit: Ukraine Internal Affairs Ministry via Storyful