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Israelis with Russian citizenship will be drafted into Putin’s army, Foreign Ministry warns

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The IDF is forbidding soldiers with Russian citizenship from visiting the country and has instructed soldiers currently there to return immediately to Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

Dual Israeli-Russian citizens currently in Russian territory may be drafted into the Russian army, Israel’s Foreign Ministry warned on Friday.

“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 statement read, addressing the hundreds of thousands of dual citizens.

The IDF is forbidding soldiers with Russian citizenship from visiting the country and has instructed soldiers currently there to return immediately to Israel, an Israeli official told the Walla news site.

At least 5,400 Russians have arrived in Israel in recent days since Russian President Vladimir Putin the conscription of 300,000 civilians into military service to fight in Ukraine. TPS reported.

A number of Israelis holding dual Russian citizenship have been blocked from entering Estonia in recent days, according to Hebrew-language media reports.

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Unable to fly to most countries, Russians seeking to evade the draft have swamped land border crossings with Finland, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and even as far east as Mongolia. Videos posted on social media showed lines of cars stretching for miles.

A mass exodus of Russian men — alone or with their families or friends — began Sept. 21, shortly after Putin announced the partial call-up of reservists.

Over 194,000 Russians had entered Kazakhstan, Georgia and Finland by Tuesday. It wasn’t possible to discern how many of them fled the military call-up and how many traveled for other reasons, but the numbers were much higher than those before the call-up.

Associated Press contributed to this report.