Chabad Lubavitch of Ukraine

Chabad-Lubavitch network in Ukraine

Chabad in Ukraine
Type	Jewish religious and educational network
Headquarters	Dnipro (main hub)
Website	https://www.chabad.org/jewish-centers/country/Ukraine

Chabad-Lubavitch maintains an extensive network of centres, synagogues, schools and social services across Ukraine, coordinated largely through the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU), founded in 1999. They support thousands of people through the Jewish Relief Network Ukraine (JRNU)

The movement's modern presence began in 1990 when the Rebbe sent the first permanent emissary couples. By 2022, 192 emissary couples operated in 32 cities.

Timeline

• 1990 – First permanent Chabad emissaries arrive; Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky establishes Chabad in Dnipro.
• 1999 – Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (FJCU) founded.
• 2014–2022 – Chabad centres in eastern Ukraine affected by conflict; many continue operations.
• 24 February 2022 – Full-scale invasion; Chabad network evacuates thousands and provides humanitarian aid.

Chabad centres, synagogues, schools and groups by city

City/Region	Centre/Group/School/Synagogue	Type	Number of branches
Dnipro	Rehabilitation Center for former Inmates, Chabad of Dnipro, Beis Chabad Levy Yitzchok, Menorah Community, Menorah Center, Kindergarten Beit Tzindlicht, Mikvah for Women (Dnipro), Ohr Avner Levi-Yitzhak Shneerson Day School, Pirchei Ukraina Boys Choir, Jewish Community of Dnipro, Women's Pedagogical College Beit Chana, Children's Organization Tzivos Hashem, Boarding House for Girls (Dnipro), Boarding House for Boys (Dnipro), Yeshiva Gdola Nachlas Levi, Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine (Dnipro), Mikvah for Men (Dnipro), Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine (Museum), Kindergarten Ilana, Charity Center Hesed Menachem	Synagogue, school, community hub, mikvah, yeshiva, museum, orphanage, rehabilitation	20
Kiev	Chabad-Lubavitch of Kyiv (Saksahanskoho 67), Or Avner Day School (Kiev), Perlina Kindergarten	Synagogue, school, kindergarten
Odessa	Or Avner Chabad Day School (Odessa), Mishpacha Orphanage, Beit Hakneset Chabad Lubavitch	School, orphanage, synagogue
Kharkiv	Ohr Avner Chabad School (Kharkiv), Yeshiva Ktana	School, yeshiva
Belaya Tserkov	Chabad Lubavitch of Belaya Tserkov	Community centre
Berdichev	Jewish Community of Berdichev	Community centre
Cherkassy	Chabad Lubavitch of Cherkassy, Ohr Avner School, Mikvah Rama	Community centre, school, mikvah
Chernihiv	Jewish Community of Chernihiv	Community centre
Chernivtsi	Chabad of Chernivtsi	Community centre
Donetsk	Chabad Lubavitch of Donetsk	Community centre
Hadiach	Heichel Admur Hazaken	Historic site
Ivano-Frankivsk	Chabad of Ivano-Frankivsk	Community centre
Izmail	Chabad of Izmail (Izmail)	Community centre
Kherson	Chabad Community of Kherson	Community centre
Khmelnytskyi	Jewish Community of Khmelnytskyi	Community centre
Korosten	Jewish Community of Korosten (Korosten)	Community centre
Kremenchuk	Jewish Community of Kremenchuk	Community centre
Kryvyi Rih	Jewish Community of Kryvyi Rih, Mikvah (Kryvyi Rih)	Community centre, mikvah
Luhansk	Jewish Community of Luhansk (Luhansk)	Community centre
Lviv	Chabad of Lviv	Community centre
Makiivka	Jewish Community of Makiivka (Makiivka)	Community centre
Mariupol	Jewish Community of Mariupol	Community centre
Melitopol	Jewish Community of Melitopol (Melitopol)	Community centre
Mykolaiv	Jewish Community of Mykolaiv	Community centre
Pervomaisk	Jewish Community of Pervomaisk (Pervomaisk)	Community centre
Poltava	Jewish Community of Poltava, Ohr Avner Day School	Community centre, school
Rivne	Jewish Community of Rivne (Rivne)	Community centre
Sumy	Jewish Community of Sumy (Sumy)	Community centre
Uzhhorod	Jewish Community of Uzhhorod (Uzhhorod)	Community centre
Vinnytsia	Jewish Community of Vinnytsia, Chabad House	Community centre
Zaporizhzhia	Jewish Community of Zaporizhzhia	Community centre
Zhytomyr	Jewish Community of Zhytomyr, Alumim Children Center	Community centre, children's centre

Source:

Key Chabad figures in Ukraine

Name	Role	Location
Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky	Chief Rabbi of Dnipro, head of Council of Hasidic Rabbis	Dnipro
Rabbi Avraham Wolff	Chief Rabbi of Odesa and southern Ukraine	Odessa
Rabbi Meir Stambler	Chairman, Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine	National

Key funders

Chabad operations in Ukraine receive major support from the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), UJA-Federation of New York, and individual philanthropists. During the 2022 war, JFNA and partners channelled millions in humanitarian aid through Chabad’s Jewish Relief Network Ukraine.

The flagship Menorah Center in Dnipro — the largest Jewish community centre in the world — was financed primarily by Ukrainian oligarchs Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov, who together contributed over US$100 million to its construction and ongoing operations.

Major institutional and philanthropic supporters include:

• Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and UJA-Federation of New York, which have channelled tens of millions of dollars through JRNU for war-time aid, generators, evacuation and relief.
• Ohr Avner Foundation (founded by Lev Leviev), which funds Chabad schools and emissaries across Ukraine.
• Rohr Family Foundation, a consistent backer of Chabad emissaries in eastern Ukraine.
• Mayberg Family Foundation, which has supported centres including in Chernivtsi.
• Genesis Philanthropy Group, which pledged $10 million in emergency aid to Ukrainian Jewish communities via the Federation of Jewish Communities of the FSU at the outset of the 2022 war.

Additional partners include the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) for humanitarian operations, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) for coordinated relief, and the Orthodox Union. Pre-war, Russian-Jewish oligarchs such as Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan were also known to support Chabad initiatives across the former Soviet Union. Local Chabad houses continue to receive donations from community members for day-to-day operations.