Israeli envoys in Ukraine border countries prepare for potential land evacuation

Israeli diplomats serving in countries bordering Ukraine — Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova — on Sunday visited border crossings and met with the officials in charge of the stations to discuss a potential land evacuation of Israelis and Ukrainian Jews should Russia invade.

As announced by the Foreign Ministry, Israel’s consular section in Kyiv opened Sunday — which it generally does not do — to provide consular services to Israelis looking to leave the country. Few citizens showed up, which the ministry interpreted as a sign that those looking to leave have already done so.

After a situational assessment headed by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, the Foreign Ministry assessed that in the event of an escalation with Russia, Ukraine’s skies will be closed and leaving the country will be difficult.

In an interview with The Times of Israel last week at his Kyiv office, Ambassador Michael Brodsky said Israelis should immediately leave Ukraine and not count on rescue flights to extract them if war breaks out.

The ministry also continued to weigh the possibility of moving the embassy temporarily to the western city of Lviv.

It has already opened a temporary consular section in a Lviv building owned by Israel’s honorary consul-general in the country.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (center) takes part in a Foreign Ministry assessment on February 20, 2022, into the situation in Ukraine. (Courtesy)

On Saturday, the Foreign Ministry issued a fresh call for Israelis in Ukraine to immediately leave the country, amid growing Western warnings of a looming Russian invasion.

“An eruption [of war] will be quick and severe,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.