Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recognition on February 21 of two “breakaway” states in eastern Ukraine and his subsequent dispatch of “peacekeepers” there—considered by Western nations to be an official invasion of the country—has left its citizens and particularly the Jewish communities on edge. Throughout Ukraine, Jewish leaders are watching closely, and many have made contingency plans in the event the situation worsens.

Ukraine’s Chief Rabbi Yaakov Bleich told JNS that the Jews “are part of the general community. What’s good for Ukraine is good for the Jews of Ukraine. What’s bad for Ukraine is bad for the Jews of Ukraine.”

He stated that Russia’s move is an “act of war against the sovereignty of Ukraine,” and he and other communities are keeping a close watch on events, as “it’s a developing situation.”

An estimated 200,000 Jews are spread throughout a number of communities in the country.

Bleich said that in the meantime, the Jewish communities near Lugansk and Donetsk “will shelter in place or evacuate.” The Jewish communities of Kharkiv and Odessa “need to make a decision of what they are doing,” he said, but are likely waiting to see how events unfold.

Bleich said that as far as Kyiv is concerned, “at this point, no one thinks there will be a ground incursion, but there is a danger of bombings and missiles being shot at Kyiv, especially trying to get to certain buildings in Kyiv such as the ministry of defense, the airports and other strategic areas.”

These targets, he said, have put Kyiv “in the line of fire.”

“Most people are sheltering in place,” he said. “Some communities have made contingency plans for temporary evacuation. However, it all depends on the situation.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid spoke on Tuesday, February 22 with Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky and the Ukraine embassy staff in Kyiv who had been instructed to move to consular offices in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

According to the ministry’s Twitter account, “Lapid emphasized that protecting the lives of Israel’s emissaries, Israeli citizens situated in Ukraine, and the large Jewish community in the country, is the State of Israel’s top priority.”

The ministry has made contingency plans to help evacuate Ukraine’s Jews, if necessary. Since the skies will likely be closed, Israel has arranged for a land evacuation through Ukraine’s neighbors including Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Moldova.

“The consular office in Lviv has been working to provide travel documents to Israeli citizens … and will assist citizens interested in leaving the country, primarily through land border crossings to neighboring countries,” the ministry said in a statement.

Officials said that the ministry was “prepared for any development, including the possibility of a land exit.”

In that framework, they said, “Israeli diplomats stationed in Lviv, as well as those serving in Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova and Hungary, have held visits to border crossings with Ukraine and meetings with the authorities at the crossings to ensure the passage of Israeli citizens who wish to leave Ukraine.”

The Foreign Ministry reiterated its call to all Israeli citizens to leave Ukraine immediately. Just 4,000 Israelis have heeded Jerusalem’s advice and left Ukraine thus far.

The Jewish Agency also announced it would be moving its staffers from Kyiv to Lviv before reassessing the security situation early next week.

Local representatives in Kyiv would continue to provide service to local Jewish community members, said agency officials.

“The Jewish Agency is closely monitoring developments in the Ukraine region and is prepared to provide assistance in various scenarios, in accordance with the relevant government ministries,” said acting Agency Chairman Yaakov Hagoel.

Rabbi Hillel Cohen, an active leader within Kyiv’s Jewish community and head of Hatzalah Ukraine, told JNS he is prepared for the worst-case scenario, but he hopes for the best. He mirrored Bleich’s assessment of the current situation, saying that most Jewish communities are either hunkering down or making emergency contingency plans to evacuate westward if necessary.

As of now, even with the incursion of Russian troops into Ukrainian territory, the Jewish communities are alert and ready to react, though still hoping that the situation will deescalate and not deteriorate.

Nearly 100 Ukrainian Jews immigrated to Israel on February 20 to escape a dire situation they believed would only deteriorate even further.

Asked whether more Ukrainian Jews will move to Israel or other countries in order to escape advancing Russian troops, Bleich sounded skeptical. “It’s hard to say that now people will be running en masse to Israel,” he said. “They didn’t do it in 2014. I don’t see it happening now unless things get really bad.

“There has not been—and we hope there will not be—any antisemitism due to what is happening,” he said. “We need a lot of heavenly help from God that things should stay under control and not get out of hand.”

By Israel Kasnett/JNS.org and combined sources