Repatriation of Russian citizens from Israel

We took note of an article published on April 26 on the Radio Liberty website about Russian citizens that found themselves in a predicament in Israel. They came to Israel for planned medical treatment (surgery and chemotherapy) for their children.

We were not surprised by the article’s details about Russian citizens and their emotional statements. They are mothers who want to return home with their children as soon as possible. What is strange is that the authors of the article did not report that on April 24 it was announced that an Aeroflot flight on April 28 was supposed to bring Russian citizens home from Israel.

So, neither the Russian Embassy in Israel, nor the Russian leaders forgot about their compatriots. We would be happy to tell the authors about this and much more if they would only inquire.

At present, the Russian Embassy knows about some 70 Russian nationals that came to Israel for medical treatment. This number includes the people accompanying the patients.

As for Angelina, Renat and Irina, who were mentioned in the article and who are in Israel together with their children that underwent or are undergoing medical treatment in Israel, the Embassy began to resolve their problems with cancelled flights as soon as it learned about them. As the article explains, one family was put in a hotel in Netanya at the expense of sponsors. Another family cannot stay in the hotel we suggested because there is no kitchen but it is in constant contact with an Embassy employee that helps resolve all problems as they arise. Regrettably, the third Russian citizen mentioned in the publication couldn’t use the transport and hotel accommodation offered by the Embassy because the doctor would not clear her to leave the premises for medical reasons.

We would like to note that apart from the aforementioned Russian citizens in Israel for medical treatment, we know about another 300 Russians that arrived in Israel for different reasons (family, work, study and the like). Some of them have no money or accommodation. Far from all of them fall under the Government’s resolutions 433 of April 3, 2020 and 370 of May 31, 2010. The Embassy is doing all it can to arrange support from sponsors and to collect personal contributions to help them out.

At about 11 pm on April 24, the official Telegram channel for government services announced that on April 28 an Aeroflot plane will make a special flight at 3 pm to bring Russian citizens home. The preliminary passenger information only included residents of Moscow, the Moscow Region, St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. Nevertheless, using its authority, the Embassy is trying to get as many passengers on this flight as possible. This primarily applies to those compatriots that have to leave Israel as soon as possible.

The Embassy would like to draw your attention to the fact that the 90 day visa-free term is expiring for some Russian citizens. The Embassy requested that the Israeli consular authorities automatically extend the stay of Russian citizens until their departure from Israel. There has been no official reply yet but our Israeli partners are saying that this issue will be resolved for citizens of all countries with which Israel has visa-free agreements, including Russia.