Ukrainian President Zelenskyy reacts to Makhachkala riots: 'Widespread culture of hatred'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pictured during a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in Odesa, southern Ukraine. (Nina Lyashonok / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the Makhachkala riots on Sunday night, in which a group of anti-Israeli protestors stormed a Russian airport and reportedly yelled anti-Semitic statements.

"Appalling videos from Makhachkala, Russia, where an angry mob broke into the airport searching for Israeli citizens on the flight from Tel-Aviv," Zelenskyy wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"This is not an isolated incident in Makhachkala, but rather part of Russia’s widespread culture of hatred toward other nations, which is propagated by state television, pundits, and authorities," he continued.

Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, then accused high-ranking Russian officials of harboring hatred towards Jews.

"The Russian foreign minister has made a series of antisemitic remarks in the last year. The Russian President also used antisemitic slurs," the Ukrainian leader explained. "For Russian propaganda talking heads on official television, hate rhetoric is routine. Even the most recent Middle East escalation prompted antisemitic statements from Russian ideologists."

"Russian antisemitism and hatred toward other nations are systemic and deeply rooted," he added. "Hatred is what drives aggression and terror. We must all work together to oppose hatred."