Fleeing war, Ukrainian immigrants get ready for their departure to Israel

Hundreds of new immigrants to Israel from Ukraine were slated to touch down at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, fleeing the war-torn nation and hoping to set up a new life in the Jewish state.

Leaving behind their homes, they crossed into Poland, Romania and Moldova and were greeted by Foreign Ministry staffers, employees of the Jewish Agency and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

Israel expects tens of thousands of Ukrainian Jews to immigrate to Israel as the crisis in Ukraine stretches on following Russia’s invasion.

Ronen Cohen, the director of the Immigration and Absorption Ministry, told Army Radio on Sunday evening that 400 refugees had landed in Israel in the previous six hours.

The men, women and children scheduled to arrive in Israel on Sunday spent their final days before departing Europe at immigration centers operated by Israel in Poland, Moldova and Romania.

Jewish Ukrainians are seen leaving a hotel in Warsaw, Poland, to head to the airport to board a plane for Israel on March 6, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

A Jewish Ukrainian man who fled Ukraine prays while covered in a prayer shawl at the Chisinau International Airport in Moldova, as he makes his way to Israel, March 6, 2022. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Jewish Ukrainian refugees take part in a Havdalah ceremony marking the end of Shabbat, at a hotel in Warsaw, Poland, March 5, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Jewish Ukrainians are seen leaving a hotel in Warsaw, Poland, to head to the airport to board a plane for Israel on March 6, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

A Jewish Ukrainian man who fled Ukraine prays while covered in a prayer shawl at the Chisinau International Airport in Moldova, as he makes his way to Israel, March 6, 2022. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Jewish Ukrainians who fled fighting in Ukraine seen at the Chisinau International Airport in Moldova as they make their way to Israel, March 6, 2022. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Jewish Ukrainians who fled fighting in Ukraine seen at the Chisinau International Airport in Moldova as they make their way to Israel, March 6, 2022. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Jewish Ukrainian refugees sit at an emergency shelter sponsored by the IFCJ (International Fellowship of Christians and Jews) and the JDC in Chisinau, Moldova, March 5, 2022. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Jewish Ukrainians who fled war zones in Ukraine, seen leaving a hotel to the airport in Warsaw to board a plane of the Jewish Agency, as they make thier way to Israel, March 6, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Jewish Ukrainian refugees sit at an emergency shelter sponsored by the IFCJ (International Fellowship of Christians and Jews) and the JDC in Chisinau, Moldova, March 5, 2022. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Jewish Ukrainian who fled war zones in Ukraine, seen at the Chisinau International Airport in Moldova, as they make thier way to Israel, March 6, 2022. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Jewish Ukrainian refugees arrive at an emergency shelter sponsored by the IFCJ (International Fellowship of Christians and Jews) and the JDC in Chisinau, Moldova, March 5, 2022. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Jewish Ukrainian refugees sit at an emergency shelter sponsored by the IFCJ (International Fellowship of Christians and Jews) and the JDC in Chisinau, Moldova, March 5, 2022. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Ukrainian Jews who fled the Russian invasion pray at Chisinau International Airport in Moldova, as they make their way to Israel, March 6, 2022. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)