Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Thursday, February 24, 2022

‘There’s huge panic,’ says leader in Odessa Jewish community

By Sue Surkes 24 February 2022, 1:56 pm 0 Edit

Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter.

A senior official from the Tikva organization in Odessa, Ukraine, which educates Jews of all ages and is currently caring for 300 orphan children, tells The Times of Israel that “There’s huge panic. We’ve been taking calls since 4 a.m.

“A lot of elderly people are worried they won’t have enough to eat. People are asking us what to do,” says the official, who asks to remain anonymous.

“At this stage we’re telling the community to stay at home. From time to time there are explosions on the streets and we don’t know whether it’s safe to go out,” he says.

“The exits from the city are already jammed with traffic as people try to flee. We are responsible for 300 children and a nucleus of 100 families.”