Despite the concerns ahead of the holidays, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen clarified on Thursday that there will be no problem for Israelis who wish to visit Uman on Rosh Hashanah this year.
"I am in regular contact with the Ukrainians, with my colleague Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the senior officials of the ministry are in contact with their colleagues in Ukraine," Cohen said in an interview with the haredi website Kikar HaShabbat.
"Two weeks ago, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine called me and asked me to look after an extension of the medical insurance for the benefit of the Ukrainian refugees in Israel. I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and indeed within 48 hours my promise to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister was fulfilled in full."
"At the same time, in the same conversation, he gave me his promise that a visa would not be required for Israelis to enter Ukraine. It is mutual, Ukrainians entering Israel do not need a visa either," added Cohen.
Cohen stressed that there is a travel warning for Ukraine. "It is a country that is under war. But at the same time, and we are witnessing this, last year even though there was a travel warning - 30,000 Hasidim came to Uman. The main destination they are coming to is Moldova and we are preparing for that."