“No panic.” Ambassador Korniychuk explained how many Ukrainians want to leave Israel because of the war

On March 20, 2026, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk stated that there is currently no mass departure of Ukrainians from the country. According to him, only about 25 people have registered for departure through the embassy, which is clearly not enough to launch a separate charter flight.

Against the backdrop of war, anxiety, and rising tensions in the Middle East, this assessment is indicative. For the Israeli audience, not only is the fact of calm within the Ukrainian community important, but also the broader context: how exactly Ukrainians in Israel assess risks, what routes they use, and why even after threats from Iran, no large-scale panic has arisen.

Why Ukrainians are not in a hurry to leave Israel

The embassy records a limited number of applications

Yevhen Korniychuk made it clear that the situation among Ukrainian citizens in Israel remains manageable. According to him, it is not about a mass demand for evacuation, but about targeted requests.

That is why the diplomat directly said: there is no panic. About 25 people have registered for departure through the diplomatic mission. For a country where a significant number of Ukrainians live, this is a very small number, especially considering the overall emotional background of recent weeks.

This signal is also important for Israeli society. It shows that Ukrainians living in Israel do not perceive the current situation as a reason for urgent and chaotic departure at any cost. People, it seems, are monitoring the situation but are acting rationally.

Why an urgent charter is not needed

The ambassador separately explained that if there were more applications, the embassy is ready to help organize a special flight. This refers to a charter to Chisinau, which could be launched if at least 100 people gather.

According to preliminary estimates, such a flight would cost passengers about 300–400 dollars at cost. But now, Korniychuk emphasized, there are simply not enough people interested in this format of departure.

And this, in essence, is the main marker of the real mood within the community. When people are truly afraid of an immediate escalation, the number of applications grows quickly. Here, this has not happened yet.

What exit routes Ukrainians choose in practice

The route through Eilat, Taba, and Sharm el-Sheikh

The ambassador said that Ukrainians in Israel use alternative routes and do not limit themselves to waiting for organized evacuation. This is an important detail because it explains why the official number of requests to the embassy looks low.

The most popular option is the southern direction. People travel through Eilat to Egyptian Taba, and then head to Sharm el-Sheikh, from where they can fly to other countries. For many, this is a clear and workable logistics, especially when you need to quickly find a convenient flight and not wait for centralized decisions.

There is also a second factor: the borders with Jordan are open. This means that Ukrainian citizens in Israel have several real land exit options, and this significantly reduces the level of anxiety.

What this means for Israel

For Israel, this story is important not only as news about the situation of Ukrainians. It shows that even in conditions of war and regional instability, transport geography continues to play a decisive role. As long as there are accessible routes through Egypt and Jordan, the pressure on diplomatic evacuation mechanisms remains limited.

In this sense, the Middle East once again demonstrates its complex but working logic: when one window closes, people quickly switch to other routes. And that is why statements about “mass exodus” in such situations often do not withstand reality checks.

Somewhere in the middle of this nervous agenda arises the very practical level of conversation that is especially important for the project NANews — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency: not loud slogans, but the specific question of how many people really want to leave, what route they can use, and how ready state structures are to adapt to this.

How Iran’s threats change the situation around Ukrainian facilities in Israel

Security of diplomatic missions enhanced

Korniychuk separately reminded that after the latest statements from Iran, in which Ukraine was named a legitimate target for attacks, security measures around Ukrainian diplomatic institutions have been strengthened.

This is already another level of the problem. If the issue of departure concerns everyday logistics and personal decisions of citizens, then the topic of embassy security is a direct response to the change in the regional background.

For the Israeli audience, there is an obvious nerve here. Israel has long lived in a mode of constant threat assessment, and therefore the Ukrainian diplomatic infrastructure in the country automatically becomes part of a broader field of risk. Especially at the moment when Iranian rhetoric begins to directly mention Ukraine.

Why this concerns both Ukraine and Israel

In the interview, Korniychuk touched on broader topics: how Ukraine and Israel can be useful to each other, what the main risk of the war in the Middle East is for Ukraine, and why part of the Israeli leadership, despite the alliance between Moscow and Tehran, still prefers not to irritate Russia too sharply.

This is no longer just a diplomatic comment. It is a reminder that Ukrainian-Israeli relations today exist within a very rigid regional matrix, where any step is immediately considered through several conflicts — Ukrainian, Iranian, Syrian, Russian.

That is why the news about 25 registered for departure looks modest at first glance, but in essence says a lot. Ukrainians in Israel do not demonstrate panic behavior. The embassy is ready for emergency decisions, but there is no acute need for them yet. However, the level of political and military risks around the very topic, on the contrary, remains high.