Israelis who also hold Ukrainian passports should avoid traveling to Ukraine due to increasing reports of dual citizens not being allowed to leave the country, the Israeli embassy in Kiev has warned.
The warning comes as the Ukrainian authorities tighten mobilization laws, which prevent all men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country while it is under martial law. Last month, the Ukrainian border guard extended the measure to even those who hold a second passport and have permanent residence abroad.
In a message on his official Telegram channel on Monday, the Israeli ambassador to Kiev, Michael Brodsky, wrote that all Israelis with Ukrainian citizenship should “consider the expediency of visiting Ukraine during wartime.”
“In case of detention of the holder of dual citizenship, the Embassy will not be able to provide assistance in the matter of departure from Ukraine,” Brodsky wrote, noting an increase in recent cases of Israeli passport holders being detained at the Ukrainian border.
A similar warning was also issued last month by the US embassy in Kiev, which “strongly” advised dual citizens from outside Ukraine not to travel to the country, noting that there is an “extremely high risk” that they would not be allowed to leave, even with an American passport. As for those who are already on Ukrainian soil, the embassy advised them to “shelter in place and comply with all local orders.”
Kiev announced a general mobilization shortly after the hostilities with Russia broke out in February 2022, barring most military-aged men from leaving the country. However, this effort has been marred by widespread graft and draft-dodging. More recently, faced with mounting battlefield losses, Vladimir Zelensky passed a law that lowered the draft age from 27 to 25 and another that significantly tightened mobilization rules.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian border service has reported that over 100 people have been attempting to flee the country every day using various methods in order to avoid mobilization. Some have even lost their lives in the process. At least 45 Ukrainians are reported to have died in rough terrain trying to flee the country last month, with many drowning in the Tisza River, which flows through southwestern Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Serbia.