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Akbar Novruz

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​Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Russia's repeated claims that Ukraine harbors Nazism, saying the country's Jewish communities, Holocaust memorials and legislation against antisemitism demonstrate the opposite, AzerNEWS reports.

Speaking in an interview with American political commentator Laura Loomer, Zelensky dismissed allegations that Nazis are present in Ukraine.

"There are none and never have been," he said, pointing to Ukraine's hundreds of ethnic minorities and longstanding Jewish communities.

Zelensky also highlighted Ukraine's legislation against antisemitism, describing it as one of the strictest in Europe and noting that it was adopted during his presidency.

"We have a special, very strict law. No European country has such a strict law. Antisemitism is outlawed in our country. We did this during my presidency – we passed this law by vote," Zelensky said.

He argued that the country's synagogues, Holocaust memorials and legal framework collectively serve as Ukraine's response to accusations made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The number of synagogues, the number of these tragic memorials, the number of these stories, the number of these millions of people – all of this, together with the law and everything else – is our answer to Putin," he said.

During the interview, Loomer remarked that the United States does not have a comparable law explicitly prohibiting antisemitism.

Russia has repeatedly justified its military actions by claiming the need to "de-Nazify" Ukraine, an assertion rejected by Kyiv and widely disputed by Western governments and international observers.

At the same time, critics of Ukraine have argued that Zelensky's remarks do not address longstanding concerns over the public display of Nazi-related symbolism and the glorification of certain nationalist figures. They point to commemorative events honoring Stepan Bandera and the OUN-UPA, as well as the historical use of symbols associated with far-right movements by some members of military formations such as the Azov Regiment. Ukrainian authorities maintain that such issues do not reflect state policy and reject the characterization of Ukraine as a Nazi state.