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Ukraine declares state of emergency, citizens to carry firearms

Move enables mobilization of reservists and other security measures.

By David Hellerman, World Israel News

Ukraine’s parliament approved a 30-day state of emergency in areas of the country it controls. The state of emergency begins on Thursday.

The government also urged its nationals to leave Russia.

A state of emergency paves the way for military reservists to be called up and also allow citizens to carry firearms. It would also give authorities latitude to impose curfews, restrict transportation, better secure critical infrastructure and ban labor strikes.

Parliament can extend the state of emergency, if necessary.

“These are preventive measures to keep calm in the country, so that our economy and our country can work,” Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, told reporters in Kyiv.

“Depending on the threats that may arise in certain territories, there will be either a more strengthened or more weakened state of emergency. We are talking about border areas where we have a border with the Russian Federation, with Belarus,” he said.

But Danilov stressed that Ukraine has not yet ordered a general mobilization of reservists.

Sources in the Ukrainian government told Axios Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not want to introduce emergency measures earlier for fear of causing a destabilizing “panic.” Axios also reported that Zelensky does not intend to relocate himself from Kyiv.

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“The president will not be running away from his own capital,” the source told Axios.

The state of emergency would not be applied to the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of the two areas of eastern Ukraine and ordered the Russian military to enter the regions as “peacekeepers.”

Russia has an estimated 150,000 forces massed along its border with Ukraine.

Israel, after keeping a low profile during the crisis, said it supports the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of Ukraine.

A statement Wednesday from Israel’s Foreign Ministry expressed concern about the “serious escalation” in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow is formally recognizing the independence of two pro-Russian breakaway regions.

The statement made no mention of Russia, which the United States and its NATO fear is poised to launch a full-blown attack on Ukraine.

The statement said Israel “hopes for a diplomatic solution which will lead to calm, and is willing to help if asked.”

The Foreign Ministry voiced concern about the welfare of its citizens in Ukraine and the country’s Jewish community.

Israel is home to a large population of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, including Ukraine.

Associated Press contributed to this report.