On the anniversary of the tragedy in Babyn Yar, more than 1,000 new names of shooting victims have been identified.

84th Anniversary of the Babyn Yar Tragedy

Every year on September 29, and on September 29, 2025, in Kyiv, the victims of the shooting in Babyn Yar are remembered, marking the 84th anniversary of this tragedy. As part of the events organized by the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center and the worldwide organization “March of Life,” a new historical study was revealed, according to which more than 1,000 names of new victims were disclosed.

Details of the Study

The study was conducted amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. The list of victims included many small children, the elderly, and entire families. This approach to identifying names allows for a deeper understanding of the scale of the tragedy and the commemoration of the deceased.

At the site of the shooting, the sacred Kaddish prayer in memory of the victims was recited by the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine, Yaakov Dov Bleich. This event drew the attention of both Jews and people of other nationalities, emphasizing the need for unity in addressing history.

List of Victims

Among the newly discovered names are 9-month-old Misha Dubinsky, one-and-a-half-year-old Sara Roitman, and 102-year-old Sima-Sara Kukas-Aslan. Entire families, including parents aged 40 with small children, also receive attention.

Historical Context

Babyn Yar is a vast ravine in the northwest of Kyiv, where during World War II, during the occupation of Ukraine by German troops, mass shootings of civilians, particularly Jews, were carried out. The first large-scale shooting, which took place on September 29-30, 1941, resulted in the death of more than 33,700 people.

Subsequently, the Nazis continued to conduct shootings on October 1 and 2, 8, and 11, 1941. Over time, according to various estimates, between 70,000 and 200,000 people were shot in Babyn Yar.

Some sources claim that among the dead, there were about 150,000 Jews, not including small children under 3 years old. Only 29 people managed to escape.

Search for Victims

The new study represents an ongoing attempt to fill gaps in historical memory. Identifying previously unknown names of victims allows for the preservation of the memory of the tragedy, ensuring further documentation of the suffering of those who lost their lives.