The evacuation of the embassy in Ukraine is complete, Israel informed Russia of the location of the alternative mission for fear of being harmed
Behind the scenes of the night drama: Following Putin's speech, Lapid preceded the evacuation of the embassy in Kiev.
About 40 Israelis secretly left at night in several separate convoys.
Classified documents were destroyed and sensitive equipment was removed.
The Foreign Ministry informed Ukraine and Russia in advance of the evacuation and stressed its concern for the peace of diplomats
Lightning Ravid
22/02/2022
Tuesday, 22 February 2022, 10:19 Updated: 13:20
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In the video: Foreign Minister Yair Lapid refers in an interview to Walla!
For Russia-Ukraine tensions (Walla system!)
On Monday afternoon, an hour before the announcement was made in the media, the head of the Eurasian branch in the Foreign Ministry, Gary Koren, made two phone calls.
The first was a senior member of the Ukrainian government.
"We are announcing shortly the evacuation of our embassy in Kiev," Koren told him.
The Ukrainian official did not like to hear the things.
Koren's second call was to a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official.
He also updated him on the evacuation of the embassy and the move to an alternative diplomatic mission in the city of Leviv in western Ukraine, near the Polish border.
A senior Foreign Ministry official said that in view of the fear of an attack on Leviv as part of a Russian invasion, Koren updated the Russians on the location of the new mission and stressed the concern for the safety of Israeli diplomats.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Hayat confirmed that Koren had informed the Russians about the evacuation of the embassy in Kiev but declined to comment on the rest of the details.
More on Walla!
Against the background of the fear of a Russian invasion: Israel will evacuate the embassy from Kiev
To the full article
The evacuation was brought forward.
Israeli Embassy in Kiev (Photo: GettyImages)
The discussion that took place in the Foreign Ministry shortly before that was very purposeful.
Foreign Minister Lapid called for a zoom call from the Knesset.
He began questioning Foreign Ministry officials and especially security officials about the route from Kiev to Leviv and the reactions of Ukraine and Russia to the move to evacuate the embassy.
Officials at the Foreign Ministry's Center for Political Research said at the hearing that all the indicators set in previous discussions as red lines that would justify the evacuation of the embassy had been crossed.
Putin's moves on Monday morning only reinforced that assessment.
"All the indices were red," said a senior State Department official.
Israeli Ambassador to Kiev Michael Brodsky told Lapid that despite signs of escalation on the part of Russia he feels safe enough and ready to stay longer in Kiev.
A senior Foreign Ministry official noted that Foreign Minister Lapid had rejected Brodsky's proposal.
"I understand you and well done you want to stay but we have set criteria for evacuation and we have to meet them," he said.
"We have set criteria for evacuation and we must meet them," Foreign Minister Lapid (Photo: screenshot, Knesset channel)
Preparations for the possible evacuation of the embassy began a few days ago.
Classified materials were destroyed and sensitive equipment was moved from Kiev to other places.
The directive of Lapid and Foreign Ministry Director General Alon Ushpiz was a few days ago to be ready to vacate with an hour's notice.
Foreign Ministry security officials requested that the embassy be evacuated at night. First light and left in a convoy to Levib. But a few hours later Putin spoke and announced recognition of the independence of the rebel districts in Ukraine.
From that moment on, the calculations in the Foreign Ministry changed. At five o'clock and at midnight, the Israeli ambassador and his team left Kiev in a convoy on their way to Levib.
Lapid followed the evacuation operation until five in the morning.
A total of about 40 Israeli diplomats and emissaries left Kiev during the night.
They left in several convoys traveling on separate routes and made the journey that lasted about eight hours.
The last evacuees arrived in Leviv this afternoon.
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Yair Lapid
