Ukraine marks Babi Yar massacre's 75th anniversary

Kiev Cadets hold the national flag of Ukraine during commemoration events in Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine marked the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov) (The Associated Press)

U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, left, attends a tour in Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine marked the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov) (The Associated Press)

Kiev Cadets honor guard takes part in commemorative events at the Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine commemorated the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov) (The Associated Press)

Ukrainians have marked the 75th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacre, one of the most infamous mass slaughters of World War II.

Babi Yar, a ravine in the Ukrainian capital, is where nearly 34,000 Jews were killed within 48 hours in 1941, when the city was under Nazi occupation. The killing was carried out by SS troops along with local collaborators.

President Petro Poroshenko visited the Babi Yar monument on Thursday in a small commemoration that included people laying flowers. A larger ceremony was scheduled for the evening.

Poroshenko tweeted that "we Ukrainians very well understand the grief of the Jews and take it as our own."