Ukrainian authorities are holding at least two Israeli citizens in connection with Ukraine’s conscription laws, media in Israel reported this week.
Yevgeni Gurevitch, 42, was detained last year while trying to cross the border illegally into Poland after being prevented from leaving due to Ukraine’s martial law, Channel 12 reported on Thursday.
Separately, Yonatan Krilensky, 49, was detained in Ukraine earlier this month after traveling into the country from Israel for the Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to Uman, a Ukrainian city where the 18th century Jewish luminary Rabbi Nachman, or Nachman of Breslov, is buried, according to HaPargod, a Haredi news site. He was held while trying to cross the border from Ukraine into Romania, en route to Israel after the holiday, per the report.
Gurevitch, who like Krilensky was born in Ukraine, entered the country to visit his ailing mother, according to Channel 12. He believed his request to renounce his Ukrainian citizenship, which he’d filed years earlier, had been completed, his wife told the Israeli outlet. He had been living in Israel since 2011. Gurevitch was shot while trying to cross the Polish border, the report said, and was drafted and sent to serve on the front in the Kharkiv area.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry told Channel 12 that it and “Israel’s embassy in Ukraine are providing all available consular assistance and doing everything possible in his case, subject to local law,” Channel 12 reported.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry and Ukraine’s Embassy to Israel had not responded by time of publication to JNS queries about the whereabouts and legal status of Krilensky.
The U.S. embassy in Kyiv has reminded U.S. citizens that in 2024, Ukraine eliminated a “residence abroad” exception to its martial law that previously allowed some Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 to leave the country.
“U.S.-Ukrainian dual citizens, including those who reside in the United States and only intend to visit Ukraine briefly, may not be permitted to depart Ukraine after entering, even with a U.S. passport,” the embassy wrote in a statement last year.
Krilensky has lived in Israel for the past 20 years, according to the HaPargod report. He resides in Betar Ilit, a predominantly Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, city near Jerusalem.
Ukraine generally requires male Ukrainian citizens aged 25–59 to serve if called up, provided they are medically fit and have no exemption or deferment. The possession of additional nationalities does not automatically grant an exemption.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, prompting the declaration of martial law in the country. In recent months, Ukraine’s army has suffered a conscription crisis, which has resulted in several violent clashes involving would-be conscripts and conscription officers.
In July, the country’s National Police Service report recorded more than 600 assaults on recruitment officers and warned that the aggression has become “increasingly threatening,” the BBC reported.
Conscription authorities are accused of using excessive force and coercion. Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner recorded more than 6,000 complaints against recruiters last year, double the 2024 tally. They include claims of abuse and unlawful detention as well as poor conditions at recruitment centers, according to the BBC‘s reporting.
