Russia's foreign minister slammed for comparing Zelensky to Hitler

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov seemingly compared Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelensky to Hitler and is now facing intense backlash for his comments.

In an effort to continue the narrative that Ukraine is a pro-Nazi regime, Lavrov, 72, justified that Zelensky, 44, could still be a Nazi despite his religion.

"I believe that Adolf Hitler also had Jewish blood," Lavrov said while speaking with Italian TV program Zona Bianca on Sunday. "The fact does not negate the Nazi elements in Ukraine."

The Russian foreign minister continued to argue his point saying, “Some of the worst antisemites are Jews.”

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In the past, people have speculated that Hitler's grandfather was Jewish. However, there is no evidence to support this rumor that was first circulated by Hitler's lawyer.

Lavrov's comments were met with intense backlash from the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid who called the statement "outrageous" and "unforgivable."

The Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also released a statement disputing the false information and called upon people to stop using the Holocaust as a political tool, according to theJerusalem Post.

“[Lavrov's] words are untrue and their intentions are wrong," Bennett said. "The goal of such lies is to accuse the Jews themselves of the most awful crimes in history, which were perpetrated against them, and thereby absolve Israel’s enemies of responsibility."

Israel has notably remained neutral during the Russia-Ukraine tension, but as the Jerusalem Post noted, comments like this have pushed the country more onto Ukraine's side.

The rumor that Ukraine is operating under a Nazi regime is being used as propaganda in Russia to justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Members of Russian President Vladimir Putin's party have continued to circulate the narrative despite evidence that it is not true.

Zelensky has spoken about his family's involvement with World War II and the Holocaust. Not only did his grandfather serve in the Red Army but his great grandparents died in a fire set by German troops during a massacre.

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