Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid attends a news conference with Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss at the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office in London, Britain, November 29, 2021. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

i24 News – Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday condemned “the Russian attack on Ukraine,” the first time that Israel has publicly criticized Moscow since the start of the crisis between the two neighboring countries.

While the Foreign Ministry issued a moderate statement on Wednesday, in which it avoided stigmatizing Moscow, Lapid said on Thursday that “the Russian attack on Ukraine is a serious violation of the international order. Israel condemns this attack, and is ready and willing to offer humanitarian aid to Ukrainian citizens.”

The government’s number two also called again on all Israelis to leave Ukraine, stressing that there is already a movement of refugees westward into Ukraine.

He said that Israeli representatives are at land crossings with the five countries that border Ukraine to the west.

The border crossings that the Foreign Ministry has identified through which Israelis can leave Ukraine by land are Medyka in Poland, Vysne Nemescke in Slovakia, Zahony in Hungary, Siret in Romania and Palanca in Moldova.