Ukrainian service members walk with M141 Bunker Defeat Munition weapons supplied by the US during drills at the International Peacekeeping Security Centre in Ukraine, Feb. 4, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Roman Baluk

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged Israeli citizens in Ukraine on Sunday to avoid risks and come home immediately as tensions over a potential Russian invasion intensified.

“I call on Israelis in Ukraine: Return home. Do not take unnecessary risks. Do not wait for a situation in which you will very much want to return but will be unable to do so,” Bennett said at a weekly cabinet meeting. “Be responsible for your lives and leave Ukraine as quickly as possible and come home.”

“We do not know what the developments will be between Russia and Ukraine,” added Bennett. “Like the rest of the world, we hope that the tension will end without escalation; however, our primary obligation is to look after our Israeli citizens.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said over the weekend that while a “diplomatic path remains open” to avert an escalation with Moscow, the risk of military action was high enough to warrant the departure of American embassy staff from Kiev.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Sunday met with Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova in Jerusalem to share his concern over the escalating crisis, while expressing hope that US-led diplomatic talks will help resolve the situation. He also cautioned that there is “an especially small window” to evacuate Israelis from Ukraine.

Yonatan Markovitch, the chief rabbi of Kiev, told The Algemeiner that he has no plans to leave Ukraine and that while the situation has intensified, he is optimistic that a diplomatic path will be found. At the same time, the local Jewish community has begun preparations for the threat of an escalation, he said, including by stocking up on basic goods.

“Tension has been building up over the past weeks and we don’t feel there is any use in getting into a panic now,” Markovitch said. “There is a sense here from talking to security officials, ambassadors, and top officials in the president’s office that Russia will not enter with a military action.”

On Saturday night, Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning calling on its citizens in Ukraine to leave the country as soon as possible amid “continued tensions and the fear of escalation.” According to government estimates, there are 10,000 to 15,000 Israelis in Ukraine. Those planning on traveling to the country are advised to cancel their plans for the time being.

“Many Israelis already left over the past few weeks, like high-tech workers, either to work in other countries or to go back to Israel,” said Markovitch, who is an emissary of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. “Israelis can arrange to be evacuated, whereas Jews living in Ukraine need a lengthier process to make Aliyah to Israel.”

Bennett announced that the government worked over the weekend to greatly increase the pace of flights from Ukraine to Israel. Since then, about 10 flights left Ukraine and in the coming week, another 32 flights are scheduled to bring Israelis back.

In addition, the families of Israeli diplomats in Ukraine, more than 150 people, are making their way home.

“We are reinforcing the embassy in Kiev in order to give a better response,” Lapid said. “We are the only country that is reinforcing.”

Lapid added that the Foreign Ministry “will hold two situation assessments each day, morning and evening, and will continue to work in an emergency format.”

Representatives of the transport and education ministries, the Israel Airports Authority, and the Jewish Agency participated in the assessment meetings over the weekend.