The Ukrainian Jewish community is split along generational lines, with older people supporting Russia and younger members backing the government in Kiev.

That is the verdict of Rabbi Nachum Ehrentrau, from Zaporozhye in the south-east of the country.

He said: “We try not to get mixed up in politics, but the older generation think the future could be better under Russian control while the young tend to want closer ties with the European Union.”

Rabbi Ehrentrau, whose shul has been the target of a firebombing, made his comments at a panel event in London organised by World Jewish Relief and co-sponsored by the JC.

Among the experts assembled for the event were Adva Rodogovsky, WJR programmes manager in Ukraine, and Dr Alan Rousso, managing director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, who warned that the Ukrainian economy was “stagnating”.