Chabad-Lubavitch is undisputedly the strongest and most dominant Jewish organization in Russia. Operating under the umbrella of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR) and led by Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, Chabad represents the vast majority of affiliated rabbis and has established a near-monopoly on Jewish religious and institutional life in the country.

At the same time, Chabad Lubavitch is the strongest and most dominant Jewish organization in Ukraine and continues to actively promote and sustain Jewish life throughout Ukraine. Operating in over 30 cities, emissaries and the Jewish Relief Network Ukraine (JRNU) provide extensive humanitarian assistance while running synagogues, hosting holiday celebrations, and driving a remarkable resurgence in local Jewish identity.

Despite the devastation, emissaries report surges in people seeking religious services, affixing mezuzahs, and wrapping tefillin. Chabad's extensive network provides vital food, medical care, and social services to over 50,000 Jewish Ukrainians. They also operate shelters in cities like Odesa and Zhytomyr and facilitate wartime dietary laws (shechita).

Ukrainian-Jewish businessmen - the so called "oligarchs" as they are Jewish - have historically been the primary funders of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Ukraine. Billionaires Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolyubov are the most prominent, alongside several other key philanthropists, such as Victor Pinchukand Alexander Granovsky.

Also in Russia, prominent philanthropists such as Roman Abramovich and Lev Leviev - also so called "oligarchs, as they are Jewish - have historically been the primary funders of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. They provided the essential financial backing required to build institutions, open synagogues, and revive Jewish communal life.

The "Wedding of Peace"

Despite the war, Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries (shluchim) in Russia and Ukraine have preserved their interpersonal bonds and community networks. Rather than severing ties, these networks have even resulted in high-profile marriages between the children of prominent Russian and Ukrainian Chabad rabbis.

Children of Chabad Lubavitch emissaries across the two nations continue to intermarry, maintaining long standing family and organizational ties that cross the contested borders. The main "Wedding of Peace" took place in February 2025 when Rivka Lazar (daughter of Russia’s Chief Rabbi Berl Lazar) married Sholom Wolf (son of Rabbi Avraham Wolf, Chief Rabbi of Odessa and Southern Ukraine) in Israel. The event drew over 3,000 guests, including representatives from both countries.

The Chabad-Lubavitch movement's core philosophy dictates that emissaries remain with and serve their local Jewish communities regardless of geopolitical conflicts. According to Hasidic tradition, communal and familial ties transcend geopolitical borders, preserving person-to-person relationships even when the respective governments are at war.

Chabad Porto or Chabad World?

Both chief rabbis Wolf and Lazar have been partners with the Jewish Community of Porto for many years, through a joint project concerning Shabbat meals for needy Jewish families in Eastern Europe. When he was last in Porto, the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv, Jonathan Markovitch, declared that "the Jewish people should serve as an inspiration to other nations, as they do not engage in anything negative, but rather in constructive events aimed at the good of humanity".