- March 25, 2026
- 1:43 pm
- Ukraine
On March 24, 2026, the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Reuven Asman announced that the American flag, which flew over the US Capitol on February 24, 2022, the day of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, was proudly handed over to the people of Ukraine represented by Kyrylo Budanov. In his statement, Asman emphasized not protocol but meaning: this flag is a symbol of American solidarity and support. The gift itself, as indicated in his earlier message, was presented to him by Congressman Pete Sessions for his anniversary.
For the Israeli audience, this is an important story not only because it involves Ukraine and the USA. It brings together several sensitive topics that Israel understands without lengthy explanations: the memory of the day of war, the weight of allied gestures, the role of a religious leader in a national crisis, and the significance of symbols at a time when it’s no longer about beautiful words but about the survival of the state.
Why this story became more than just a commemorative gift
The story of this flag did not begin on March 24. As early as March 16, Ukrainian media reported: Asman received as a gift the American flag that was raised over the Capitol in Washington on February 24, 2022. At that time, his direct gratitude to Pete Sessions for the “significant gift for my anniversary” and for the “touching symbol of solidarity” was published.
The anniversary here is important not as a biographical detail for reference. On March 14, 2026, Asman turned 60, and a few days before that, a ceremonial celebration was held in Kyiv, where he was awarded and a congratulation from the President of Ukraine was read. Among the guests were representatives of the Ukrainian leadership, the diplomatic corps, including the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky, as well as the US Chargé d’Affaires Julie Davis.
And here the story becomes more substantial. It turns out not just a beautiful chain of “a congressman gave a rabbi a commemorative flag.” It turns out to be a personal anniversary inscribed in wartime; an American symbol tied to the date of the invasion; and then — the transfer of this symbol not into personal possession, but to Ukraine.
What changes the detail about the 60th anniversary
Without this detail, the story would look simply like a politically expressive gesture. With it, it reads differently. The flag was given to Asman not randomly and not abstractly “as a sign of support,” but specifically as a gift for his 60th anniversary — that is, at a point where personal biography, religious leadership, and war unexpectedly converged in one object.
For Israel, this is understandable logic. Here, too, they have long known that during war, a symbol sometimes weighs no less than an official speech. Especially if it is not impersonal. Especially if it has a date, place, context, and route: Washington — Asman’s anniversary — transfer to Ukraine.
Why Kyrylo Budanov is important in this story
Asman wrote that he handed over the flag to the people of Ukraine represented by Kyrylo Oleksiyovych Budanov. And this is also not a random figure. Since January 2026, Budanov officially holds the position of Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, as recorded by a decree of Volodymyr Zelensky and confirmed on the official website of the Office of the President.
That is, the symbol of American support was handed over not just to a well-known military name and not to a media person, but to a person who in the current Ukrainian system of power combines military reputation, state status, and the image of one of the key figures of the country during the war. For the Israeli reader, this is a very understandable political language: when a country is at war, symbols are addressed to those through whom society sees its resilience.
In the published photos, two important scenes are visible. In one — Asman holds a certificate and a showcase with a neatly folded American flag on a public platform, almost like a ready-made sign for history. In the other — the same flag is already in an official, almost office setting. A public symbol turns into a state one. And this is perhaps the main thing in the visual series of this story.
Why this reads especially sharply in Israel
The Israeli audience is very sensitive to such things. Here, too, they know too well the difference between a gesture “for the press” and a symbol that touches deeper. When society lives under the pressure of war, rocket alarms, mobilization fatigue, and constant threat, allied support is perceived not as diplomatic decor, but as part of the overall survival structure.
In this sense, Asman’s story is not only Ukrainian. It is also about the shared experience of countries that understand the value of a date, the value of a flag, and the value of the moment when an ally shows: we remember the day it all began.
That is why NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency finds it important to record such stories not as passing posts from social networks, but as markers of a broader reality. Because the connection between Ukraine, the USA, the Jewish world, and Israel today passes not only through official visits and statements. It also passes through such tangible items — tied to pain, memory, and resistance.
What this flag really means
If you remove the frame, the showcase, and the ceremonial shell, the simple essence remains. This flag flew over the Capitol on the day Russia began a full-scale war against Ukraine. Then it was given to the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine for his 60th anniversary. And then it was handed over to Ukraine as a symbol of American solidarity.
In a political sense, this is an accurate and even tough gesture. It ties together Washington, February 24, 2022, Asman’s personal story, and the current Ukrainian state vertical. In a moral sense, it is even simpler: the memory of the beginning of the war is not consigned to the archive. It continues to be carried by hand.
For the Israeli reader, there is another important layer in this. War always quickly turns words into inflation. There are too many statements. Therefore, things that have factual weight begin to matter: where the flag was, on what day, who gave it, to whom it was passed on. Such specifics make the story alive.
Therefore, this episode should not be read as a private ceremony around the anniversary of a famous rabbi. Rather the opposite. It is a rare case when a personal anniversary was inscribed in a larger geopolitics without falsehood and unnecessary pathos. And that is precisely why this story works.
It reminds of a simple thing: true solidarity in wartime is held not only on aid packages, decrees, and negotiations. Sometimes it is held on a symbol that arrives on time — and hits exactly the nerve of the era.
