- June 25, 2026
- 8:56 pm
- Israel
The Ministry of Tourism of Israel wanted to showcase its work in the Russian tourism market. The result was a scandal with Ukraine, a note to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and questions about how state structures choose people for the official promotion of the country.
On June 23, 2026, a post appeared on the official account of the Ministry of Tourism of Israel about the “visit of Denis Ustimenko, known as GeeGun”.
The ministry presented him as follows:
“אנחנו מארחים השבוע בישראל את הראפר והמשפיען הרוסי דניס אוסטימנקו (GeeGun), מהיוצרים המוכרים ביותר ברוסיה עם מיליוני עוקבים ברשתות החברתיות 🤩”
That is: “We are hosting the Russian rapper and influencer Denis Ustimenko in Israel this week.”
and they even added an emoji – 🤩.
This is not a random detail.
It was the Ministry of Tourism of Israel itself that highlighted his Russian media role. Not his private biography, not a possible Israeli status, not a family visit, but specifically the status of a person from the Russian information field.
Further in the same post, the ministry explained that the visit is “part of his activity in the Russian market.” This activity, according to the ministry itself, “includes working with influencers, tour operators, travel agents, and airlines.”
The goal is “to increase tourist demand for Israel and help restore inbound tourism.”
Who exactly does the Ministry of Tourism want to see here — ordinary vacationers or those very “heroes of the SVO” that Russian propaganda sends either to the front or to resorts?
This is where the tourism post turned into a political problem.
Because Denis Ustimenko is under sanctions from Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel stated that his official invitation is “unacceptable and immoral.”
Russian artist or Israeli citizen: what the Ministry of Tourism itself highlighted
In the comments to this story, many users wrote that Denis Ustimenko may have Israeli citizenship.
The editorial team has no official confirmation of this information, so it cannot be stated as a fact.
But the discussion itself is important.
If the Ministry of Tourism was unaware of Ustimenko’s possible Israeli status, then the question arises about the quality of the check on the person whom the state body includes in an official campaign.
If the ministry knew, then the question is different: why in the official publication does it not emphasize this, but presents him specifically as a “Russian rapper and influencer.”
Perhaps the ministry wanted to “show” its work specifically in the Russian tourism market.
Then the whole story looks even more straightforward: an Israeli state body uses a media figure from the Russian information space to promote Israel among the Russian audience.
And even a possible Israeli connection of Ustimenko does not change the main point.
The Ministry of Tourism presented him not as an Israeli artist, not as a citizen of Israel, and not as a person who simply came for personal reasons.
It presented him as a “Russian rapper and influencer,” and the visit itself as part of “work in the Russian market.”
Like, they are trying.
That is why the question now sounds not only like this: who is Denis Ustimenko according to the documents?
The main question is different: why did the Israeli state body choose for the promotion of the country in the Russian direction a person who is under Ukrainian sanctions and about whom the Ukrainian Embassy sent a note to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
What exactly did the Ministry of Tourism of Israel show
In its post, the Ministry of Tourism reported that Denis Ustimenko arrived in Israel with three children “following his Jewish roots.”
As part of the visit, as the ministry wrote, he is supposed to visit “key heritage sites and tourist spots in the country.”
Among them are Jerusalem, including Yad Vashem, the Dead Sea, Galilee, and Tel Aviv.
Separately, the ministry reported that Denis Ustimenko had dinner with the Director General of the Ministry of Tourism, Michael Itzhakov.
According to the ministry, during the meeting, they talked “about his connection with Israel and the importance of direct acquaintance with the country, its people, and history.”
In the language of tourism PR, such a story should have looked simple: a famous person with a large audience comes to Israel, visits symbolic places, talks about the country, and helps revive interest in Israeli tourism.
But in reality, this publication began to look different.
Because the Israeli state ministry chose for such a campaign a person whom Ukraine considers a supporter of Russian aggression.
And did it publicly, through an official account.
June 23 was the post. By June 25 — a different picture
The Ministry of Tourism of Israel reported on the visit on June 23.
By June 25, at the time of preparing this article, a rather modest reaction was visible under the publication: 47 likes and 15 comments.
For a campaign that the ministry itself associates with work in the Russian market through influencers, tour operators, travel agents, and airlines, such a picture looks at least ambiguous.
But the matter is not even in the number of reactions.
The main effect turned out to be not touristic, but political.
Instead of a beautiful story about “Jewish roots,” a route through Israel, and a meeting with the ministry’s leadership, the country received a diplomatic reaction from Ukraine.
This is no longer a question of likes under the post.
This is a question of how Israeli state structures choose people for the official promotion of the country.
What the Ukrainian Embassy stated
The Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Israel reacted sharply.
In the embassy’s statement on June 25, 2026, it is stated that Denis Ustimenko has been under official sanctions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine since January 2023.
The Ukrainian side also stated that, despite being born in Odessa, GeeGun “supports Russian armed aggression against Ukraine and mocks Russians who refuse to fight against Ukraine.”
But the main part of the statement is not only in the assessment of his position.
The embassy reported:
Today the Embassy sent a corresponding note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel.
That is, the Embassy of Ukraine sent a corresponding note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel.
Then a direct appeal was made:
We urge the Government of Israel to cease any official cooperation with supporters of Russian terror.
The Ukrainian diplomatic mission called on the government of Israel “to cease any official cooperation with supporters of Russian terror.”
And another important paragraph:
At the same time, we appeal to all Israelis to boycott any events involving ‘GeeGun’ and other Z-propagandists.
The embassy appealed to all Israelis with a request “to boycott any events involving GeeGun and other Z-propagandists.”
This is no longer a dispute in the comments.
This is an official diplomatic reaction to the actions of the Israeli ministry.
Why this is painful for Israel
In Israel, hundreds of thousands of people live for whom Russia’s war against Ukraine is not a television topic.
Many here have relatives in Ukraine.
Many have friends in Odessa, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia.
For some, Odessa is the city of childhood.
For some, Ukraine is the place where the graves of parents, family homes, memory, and personal history remain.
Therefore, when the Ministry of Tourism of Israel officially receives a person under Ukrainian sanctions, it is not perceived as an ordinary advertising move.
It looks like a signal.
Even if the ministry wanted to talk only about tourism, the audience heard something else: Israel promotes itself in the Russian field through a figure that Ukraine calls a supporter of Russian aggression.
Especially acute in this context is the itinerary of the visit.
Jerusalem.
Yad Vashem.
Places of Jewish memory and heritage.
The State of Israel cannot build such stories only as a tourist picture. There is always a moral context here.
Memory is not a decoration for a campaign with an influencer.
Who should have checked the risks
The Ministry of Tourism has a clear task — to bring back tourists.
After the war, flight cancellations, crises, and a drop in tourist flow, Israel really needs to work anew with external markets.
But tourism does not exist in a vacuum.
Especially when it comes to the Russian market after February 24, 2022.
Today, any official project related to Russian public figures requires verification not only by reach and subscribers.
It is necessary to understand what this person said about the war.
Whether he is on sanction lists.
How Ukraine perceives him.
What will be the reaction of Israelis of Ukrainian origin.
Will this be a promotion of Israel or a blow to Israel’s reputation.
In the case of Denis Ustimenko, these questions were either not asked, or their significance was underestimated.
Now they have returned already in the form of a note from the Ukrainian Embassy to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
NAnews — News of Israel believes that this story is important not as another dispute around a famous name.
It is important because it shows the problem of state decision-making.
Who in Israel is responsible for checking public partners?
Who assesses political risks?
Who should have seen that a person under Ukrainian sanctions cannot calmly become the face of an official tourism campaign in the Russian market?
The main problem is not with GeeGun, but with the ministry’s decision
This story is not only about Denis Ustimenko.
It is about how the Israeli state works with sensitive topics.
Can Israel be promoted in the Russian market through a person who is under Ukrainian sanctions?
Can this be called ordinary tourist activity when the Ukrainian Embassy speaks of supporters of Russian terror?
Who in Israel is responsible for such decisions before the official post appears on Facebook?
And why did the problem become apparent only after Ukraine’s public reaction?
The Ministry of Tourism wanted to talk about the visit, roots, heritage, and the restoration of tourism.
In the end, it turned out differently.
The official account of the ministry on June 23 showed work in the Russian direction.
And by June 25, this work had already become a question for the state of Israel: where is the line between tourist promotion and official cooperation with toxic figures of the Russian information field.
For Israel, this is more important than one post and one trip.
Because a country that talks about memory, history, and moral responsibility cannot choose public partners as if Russia’s war against Ukraine does not exist.
The war changed the context.
And if the state ministry of Israel wants to work with the Russian market, it must understand: after February 24, 2022, such work requires not only marketing but also political responsibility.
Otherwise, the tourism campaign may end not with increased demand, but with a diplomatic note.
Why does Israel need tourists from Russia today?
There is a question that the Ministry of Tourism of Israel seems to have decided not to ask at all.
Why does Israel need to advertise itself on the Russian tourist market today?
Namely, to promote Israel in Russia through “influencers, travel agents, operators, and airlines.”
That is, to spend state efforts to bring more people here from a country that is waging war against Ukraine, is a partner of Iran, accepts representatives of Hamas, and has been acting against Israel on international platforms for years.
This is no longer tourism.
This is political blindness.
Europe has long understood that the “Russian tourist” after the start of the war is not just a “guest with money.” It is part of a bigger question: can a citizen of an aggressor country calmly relax on beaches, visit museums and national parks while their state destroys foreign cities.
For some reason, Israel pretends that this question does not concern it.
But it concerns Israel even more than Europe.
Russia today is not a neutral country for Israel.
Russia has become one of Iran’s key allies and partners.
It arms and supports Israel’s enemies.
Russia accepts Hamas.
Russia covers anti-Israel positions on international platforms.
Russia has been playing in the same political zone for years with those who want the destruction of Israel.
And after this, the state Ministry of Tourism of Israel effectively says: let’s work with the Russian market, let’s attract tourists from there, let’s show them Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Galilee, Tel Aviv, and Yad Vashem.
Seriously?
And they will come here to “relax” — after what?
After Bucha?
After Mariupol?
After Izyum?
After Kherson?
After filtration camps, basements, torture, killings, rapes, deportation of children, and daily strikes on Ukrainian cities?
After the Russian army left behind destroyed homes, mass graves, raped women, killed civilians, kidnapped children, and cities turned into ruins?
And now the state Ministry of Tourism of Israel should spend resources, to bring this audience here — to beaches, hotels, nature parks, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, and Yad Vashem?
This does not look like the restoration of tourism.
This looks like moral deafness.
It’s not about every person with a Russian passport personally committing crimes.
It’s about something else: the state of Israel cannot pretend that the Russian tourist market exists separately from the Russian war, Russian propaganda, Russian war crimes, and Russian support for Israel’s enemies.
When the Ministry of Tourism itself builds a campaign on the Russian market — it is a state choice.
And this choice looks especially cynical when the Embassy of Ukraine is forced to send a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel and call for an end to official cooperation with supporters of Russian terror.
Israel needs tourists.
But not at any cost.
Not at the cost of reputation.
Not at the cost of relations with Ukraine.
Not at the cost of the memory of crimes that have already become part of the history of this war.
Not at the cost of turning Israel into a comfortable vacation spot for an audience that Europe increasingly tries to limit.
The Ministry of Tourism can talk about the restoration of inbound tourism as much as it wants.
But after the start of the full-scale war, the Russian market is not just a market.
It is the market of an aggressor country.
A country that is at war against Ukraine.
A country that has become a partner of Iran.
A country that accepts Hamas.
A country whose army left behind Bucha and other places that have become symbols of killings, torture, and violence.
And if the state ministry of Israel does not understand this, the problem is not just in one Dzhigan.
The problem is that part of the Israeli bureaucracy still lives as if tourism can be separated from war, money from morality, the Russian market from Russian aggression, and an advertising campaign from political responsibility.
It cannot.