Israel cancels speech of cosmonaut who was Putin's confidant

Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin was scheduled to speak in Israel, but Ukraine and the local community managed to get the event canceled. About reported embassy of Ukraine in Israel.

Netanya City Hall planned to hold an event with Yurchikhin's participation in the city's planetarium. Cosmonaut positions himself as a confidant of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and visited the temporarily occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region.

Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk sent a letter to the newly elected mayor of Netanya, Avi Slama. He congratulated him on his election and confirmed his readiness to maximize cooperation between Ukrainian cities and the municipality.

The diplomat also drew attention to the fact that visiting the temporarily occupied territories without the consent of the Ukrainian side is a gross violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity. In this regard, the embassy called on the mayor's office to reconsider the feasibility of the event.

Yurchikhin's upcoming speech caused a wave of outrage among the Ukrainian community. Activists of the organization Israeli Friends of Ukraine initiated a campaign calling on the municipality not to provide the Russian with a platform for propaganda.

"According to available information, Yurchikhin's speech was canceled. The embassy is sincerely grateful to the pro-Ukrainian community in Israel and in particular to Israeli Friends of Ukraine for their great work," the statement said.

The embassy promised to monitor the situation to make sure that the event does not take place.

• January 10, 2026 in Italy the performance of a Russian ballerina was canceled Zakharova. Ukraine expressed its gratitude.
• On January 30, it was reported that the screening was canceled in Belgium of the propaganda documentary Notes from Russia.