Ultra-Orthodox father of six drafted into Ukrainian army during trip to Uman

Israeli man detained and drafted into Ukrainian army after making Rosh Hashana pilgrimage to Rebbe Nachman’s grave in Uman.

By World Israel News Staff

A 49-year-old Israeli man returning from a Rosh Hashana pilgrimage to Uman was detained by Ukrainian authorities and taken for military service, according to a report published Sunday morning.

The man, a resident of the ultra-Orthodox city of Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem, was stopped at Ukraine’s border with Romania while attempting to return to Israel following the annual pilgrimage to the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

Although he has lived in Israel for many years and holds Israeli citizenship, he was born in Ukraine, where military-age men remain subject to the draft as the country remains at war with Russia.

According to people familiar with the incident, the man was traveling through the border crossing when Ukrainian officials examined his documents and determined that he was required to enlist.

He was subsequently separated from the other travelers and taken into custody.

“He spoke to them in Ukrainian and was joking around with the soldiers there, and then they took him aside, checked him and discovered that he was required to enlist, and they simply detained him,” a person familiar with the case said, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth report.

The man’s relatives have been unable to establish contact with him since his detention and do not know where he was taken.

Members of the Breslov community have approached local religious leaders and activists in Ukraine in an effort to determine his whereabouts and obtain assistance.

“We are at a loss,” one community activist involved in efforts to help the family said. “We approached all the rabbis and activists in Ukraine, and no one has a solution for how to get him released.”

The man is married and has six children.

An account published on Sunday by the ultra-Orthodox website Emess identified the detained man as Yonatan Karlinsky and reported that he holds both Israeli and Ukrainian citizenship.

According to that account, community representatives received information indicating that he had been transferred to a military facility in Odessa.

The report also suggests that Karlinsky had served in the Ukrainian military during his youth, potentially making him subject to additional military obligations.

Neither Karlinsky’s location nor details of his military status have been confirmed.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has informed the family that it is working to establish his whereabouts. The ministry initially indicated that it did not know precisely where he was being held.

Ukraine has maintained martial law and military mobilization measures since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Under the country’s current mobilization rules, eligible men between the ages of 25 and 60 may be called up for military service.

Ukrainian authorities generally treat people who hold Ukrainian citizenship as Ukrainian nationals while they are inside the country, even when they also possess foreign passports.