Ukrainian authorities have launched an inquiry into the 1952 killing of Neil Hasiewicz, a Ukranian citizen who, according to the Morning Star, was a fascist propagandist and district judge during the country’s Nazi occupation from 1941 to 1944.

Hasiewicz, who has been accused of directly collaborating with the Nazis, was shot and killed during a gun battle at Rivne Oblast on Ukraine’s western border in 1952. The man who by his own admission directed the killing was Boris Steckler, now a 92-year-old retiree but at the time a senior officer in the KGB, with responsibility for tracking down former Nazis and Nazi collaborators in western Ukraine.

Mr Steckler is regarded locally as a war hero and can often be seen at parades and other celebrations commemorating the victory over Hitler’s forces.

This is the first prosecution of its kind, and is seen as part of a steady drift to the right in Ukranian politics since the change of government in 2014.

Alex Tantzer, who lost several family members as a result of Nazi-backed pogroms in the region, told Ynet that the prosecution had been inspired by nationalist agitators.

"I do not know whether this is antisemitism or not. In Ukraine, there are occasional complaints from nationalist organizations, and it's a shame that the authorities take it seriously ... It's a shame that the government in Ukraine does not stop these horrific things. Now when we celebrate victory over Nazi Germany, we are persecuting this Jew who fought against Nazis."