Israel relocates embassy in Ukraine amid Russian invasion fears

By Enes Canli

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel on Monday decided to move its embassy in Ukraine from the capital Kyiv to the western city of Lviv, amid fears of a possible Russian invasion.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid ordered the evacuation of the embassy staff to a consular office Tel Aviv opened in Lviv, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The move came following Lapid’s meetings with international actors and a situation assessment he carried out at the ministry, the statement said.

The ministry said it is currently assessing all possibilities to evacuate Israeli citizens from Ukraine.

Israel, which has approximately 15,000 citizens in Ukraine, is preparing an action plan to provide immediate support to more than 100,000 Jews in the country and to increase definitive immigration to Israel in case of war.

Tensions rose dramatically in eastern Ukraine last week, with reports of a growing number of cease-fire violations, multiple shelling incidents, and evacuation of civilians from the pro-Russian separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The US has accused Russia of amassing nearly 150,000 troops along the Ukrainian border in preparation for an imminent invasion.

Moscow has repeatedly denied any plan to invade Ukraine and instead accused Western countries of undermining Russia's security through NATO's expansion toward its borders.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat in Ankara