More than 100 Jewish orphans crossed the border from Ukraine to Romania overnight Wednesday with the help of an Israeli diplomat after they fled the Eastern European country as it faces a full-scale Russian invasion.
The group was extracted by buses from an orphanage in the northern Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr, making a stop in the western city of Chernivtsi.
Upon arriving at the country's border with Romania, the children were greeted by the Israeli Consul in Bucharest Roni Shabtai who crossed into the Ukrainian side of the border to help expedite their evacuation and resettlement in Israel.
"On behalf of the Israeli government and the embassy, you have touched us profoundly," Shabtai told the group as they arrived at the border Tuesday night.
"This is one of the defining moments of my life… Travel safely and carry on to a destination where you will have a much better life."
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Israeli Consul in Bucharest Roni Shabtai, left, welcomes Jewish Ukrainian orphans at the Siret border on Romania
(Photo: The Israeli Embassy in Romania)
The Israeli Embassy in Romania purchased supplies for the orphans, including blankets, socks, gloves and food as they are expected to spend the next several days in Cluj before making the trip to Israel.
The rescue mission was made possible thanks to the help of Gheorghe Flutur, the president of the Suceava County Council and a prominent figure in Romanian politics who harbors close ties with Israeli Ambassador to Romania David Saranga, with whom he held several meetings over the past month.
Flutur felt it was his moral obligation to aid Israel in its rescue efforts owing to his special relationship with the Jewish nation. His wife received cancer treatment at an Israeli hospital where he sat by her deathbed before she passed away four years ago.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid issued praised the rescuers and welcomed the orphans who will now start a new life in Israel.
"There is no other country like it in the world. Six days into the horrendous war in Ukraine, there are moments for which words simply do not suffice. More than 100 Jewish orphans from Ukraine crossed the Siret border into Romania. The Foreign Ministry will accompany them until they arrive in Israel," he said.
"Israel is the only country whose representatives have been stationed across the various border crossings for six days, reaching out to aid and rescue Israelis with dedication, under difficult conditions, with great pride... I am proud to be Israeli."