A Russian ballistic missile landed Friday in the city of Uman in central Ukraine, approximately 50 meters from the Tiferet Hamatzot matzah bakery.
This is the first attack on Uman in about one year. Ukrainian authorities reported that dozens of casualties were found at the scene and nearby, though no fatalities were reported.
At the time of the missile strike, dozens of workers were present in the bakery. The blast caused extensive damage to the bakery’s main door, shattered glass windows, and damaged technical equipment stored in the yard. According to reports, no one was killed.
The "Tiferet HaMatzot" bakery produces about 70 tons of matzah each year, which are distributed for free to Jews in Ukraine through the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine and Chabad, and which are also sold to Jewish communities in Europe and the United States.
Today, about 80,000 people live in Uman, including hundreds of Israelis who permanently reside near the gravesite of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Additionally, the site continues to attract hundreds of Jewish tourists, despite the ongoing conflict.
In March 2023, a Dnipro branch of the same bakery network was hit by a drone, causing damage to the building but no casualties.
Over the past few months, more than 10 physical strikes have been documented at Jewish sites in Ukraine, including synagogues in Kherson, Odessa, and Kyiv, a rabbi's home in Dnipro, a car belonging to Kherson's rabbi, and cemeteries in several cities, the most recent being in Kharkiv about two weeks ago.
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU) stated that last Shabbat (Sabbath) was one of the hardest since the war began, with sirens sounding continuously for 16 hours in Kyiv and widespread power outages in several cities.
They added, "At this moment, a meeting is supposed to take place between [US] President [Donald] Trump and [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, and we all hope that good news of peace and prosperity will come out of it, and of course, we pray for the true and complete redemption."