Israel’s embassy in Kyiv to fully reopen in coming days, envoy says

Israel’s embassy in Kyiv will be opening fully over the course of the week, Ambassador Michael Brodsky tells The Times of Israel.

The embassy staff was initially moved to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on February 21, three days before the start of the Russian invasion. They were relocated five days later to a hotel in the Polish border city of Przemysl, where they spent much of their time at the often chaotic border crossings helping Israeli citizens flee the country.

On May 17, Brodsky led a team of four Israeli diplomats to Kyiv to temporarily reopen the embassy and raise the country’s flag.

Embassy reopenings in Ukraine’s capital underscore the scope of Moscow’s failures in the war. Russia sought to take Kyiv in the opening stage of the invasion, but retreated with heavy losses after Ukrainian forces successfully held off the attack.

“The embassy begins providing consular services today for the first time since the start of the war,” he says.