Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky spoke with i24NEWS on Sunday, touching on recent developments in the ongoing Ukraine crisis, as well as what the embassy is doing to prepare for the possibility of an invasion by Moscow.
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"The embassy is preparing for all sorts of scenarios, but as of today, we are staying here in Ukraine, because our presence here is necessary for Israelis who are staying here in Ukraine," the envoy said.
"At the same time, we continue to call on Israeli citizens to leave the country as soon as possible."
The ambassador described the atmosphere on the ground over in Ukraine: "We feel an increase in escalation, and we think we are approaching the decision point, but one does not know what will happen when it will happen, and whether it will happen."
Brodsky was summoned to Ukraine's foreign ministry on Thursday after reports emerged that Israel requested potential evacuation assistance from Russia in the event of an invasion, but the envoy said that this message was possibly misconstrued.
"We keep the channels of dialogue open - we talk all the time with both Russia and Ukraine … and we will continue to talk to everyone because our top priority is the security of the staff and the security of the citizens," he said.
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"The messages we conveyed to the Russians in the same conversation that took place a few days ago are first and foremost a message of de-escalation… and the second message – a real concern for the security of the staff and the security of the citizens."
He added that this message was perhaps misinterpreted and that he explained the intention behind it to the foreign office upon his summons
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
