This week, the funeral of the Jewish soldier, a native of the city, Shimon Kostiantynovych, was held at the Jewish cemetery in Dnipro, Ukraine. Shimon, an only son, was sent to the front over a year ago. During this time, he participated in activities of the Ukrainian commando to deter the Russian attack. The Ukrainian military refuses to disclose where he served and what his duties were, and informed his acquaintances that his picture is banned from publication and even photographs of his limited-attendance funeral with his unit comrades are prohibited. The Jewish community in Dnipro proudly calls him "the Emmanuel Moreno of Ukrainian Jews" due to the prohibition on publishing their pictures. Emmanuel Yehuda Moreno was an Israeli Lieutenant Colonel in the special forces unit Sayeret Matkal. He died in combat at the end of the Second Lebanon War, but his photo remains classified by Israel's military censor to this day - one of the only soldiers to receive such treatment. Senior political and military figures in Israel have claimed that revealing his identity, even many years later, still has the power to harm Israeli security by showing to what extent exactly the IDF had infiltrated enemy ranks. Related articles: Why Trump's Ukraine policies have US Jews worried Trump Admin. has set date for full ceasefire in Ukraine One dead in Ukrainian attack on Moscow Is Russia planning to attack another European country? "He was a hero who fought for freedom in Ukraine," said Rabbi Yaakov Siniakov, responsible for activities with Jewish soldiers in Ukraine on behalf of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU) and assists Jewish soldiers at the front - with morale, advanced western equipment, and providing religious materials. His comrades in the unit told the family members at the funeral that in the last attack he participated in, Kostiantynovych managed to eliminate several Russian soldiers and mercenaries from Nepal before being killed by a direct hit from a Russian drone. The estimate is that at least 100 Jewish soldiers have been killed on the battlefield within the Ukrainian army. ''Among more than a few Jewish casualties, there are other soldiers who are still missing and have yet to be brought to a Jewish burial. In our synagogue in Dnipro, led by Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky, we study and pray for the elevation of their souls – and we are sure that they are crying out above for the people of Israel.''
