Israel said Monday its embassy in Ukraine will be relocated out of the capital Kyiv amid growing fears of a Russian invasion.
The Foreign Ministry said the Israeli embassy will be relocated to the city of Lviv in western Ukraine.
According to the ministry, the decision to move the embassy to Lviv - located about 45 kilometers (27 miles) from the border with Hungary, Poland and Romania - was made in order to aid Israelis still in Ukraine in leaving to neighboring countries via land route.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid finalized the decision after consulting with a number of international bodies a the growing enmity between Kyiv and Moscow.
"The consulate in Lviv has been working to issue travel documents to Israeli citizens since Thursday, and it will help citizens who want to leave the country, mainly from land crossings to neighboring countries,” the ministry stated.
"The Foreign Ministry is preparing for any development… In recent days the Israeli diplomats sent to Lviv, as well as those serving in Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova and Hungary, toured the border crossings with Ukraine and held meetings with the authorities at the crossings, all in order to ensure Israelis wishing to leave Ukraine can do so.
“The Foreign Ministry is once again calling on Israeli citizens who are in Ukraine to leave the country immediately."
The ministry added that less than 4,000 Israelis left Ukraine in the past week, and that between 7,000 and 8,000 are still in the country.
According to Ynet's veteran war correspondent, Ron Ben-Yishai, the ministry’s decision to relocate the embassy indicates that Israel believes that a Russian attack on Ukraine is imminent, and will probably take place within a day or two.