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Israel warns dual citizens about travel to Russia

Jerusalem tells Israeli-Russian citizens they could be drafted into Russian army.

An Aeroflot-Russian Airlines Boeing 777-3M0 lands at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, east of Tel Aviv, Israel,  Aug. 3, 2020.
An Aeroflot-Russian Airlines Boeing 777-3M0 lands at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, east of Tel Aviv, Israel, Aug. 3, 2020. — Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued Sept. 30 an advisory alert to dual Israeli-Russian citizens. “Israeli citizens who also hold Russian citizenship who enter, stay in, or will visit inside the borders of the Russian Federation, will be subject to Russian laws and regulations, including decisions regarding drafting citizens into the Russian military and the possibility of leaving the state’s borders,” the notice read.

Also on Sept. 30, the ministry tweeted, “Israel supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We will not recognize the annexation of the four provinces by Russia. Israel has repeated this clear position many times, including in recent days.” The tweet toed in line with the American and European position expressed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The Sept. 30 tweet followed Moscow’s decision to annex parts of Ukraine, claiming residents there supported annexation in a referendum held earlier in the week. Already before the referendum, Israel issued a statement saying that like Ukraine and its allies, it won’t recognize its results.

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