World
Family of Israeli citizen claims he was forcibly drafted into Ukrainian army after visiting his mother
Yevgeny Gorbits, 42, who immigrated to Israel in 2011, arrived in summer 2025 to visit his mother in Ukraine and was not allowed to leave the country, because the authorities there believe he remains a Ukrainian citizen. According to his family, he was shot and wounded in an attempt to cross the border into Poland, arrested, forcibly drafted and sent to the Kharkiv region near the front line. The Foreign Ministry said it is providing the possible consular assistance.
· Source: N12. Photo as published in the article
Yevgeny Gorbits, 42, an Israeli citizen who immigrated from Ukraine in 2011, arrived in Ukraine in summer 2025 to visit his elderly mother, was not allowed to leave the country for more than a year, and according to a petition received by the Foreign Ministry was forcibly drafted into the Ukrainian army last month and stationed near the front line.
Gorbits immigrated to Israel from Ukraine in 2011, received Israeli citizenship and settled in the country. According to his wife, he sought years ago to renounce his Ukrainian citizenship and believed the process had been completed, but Ukrainian authorities believe he remains a Ukrainian citizen, so he was forbidden from leaving the country and apparently draft obligation applied to him.
In August 2025, after visiting his mother, Ukrainian authorities did not allow him to leave the country, claiming he is a Ukrainian citizen who entered the country using an Israeli passport, in violation of local law. For more than a year he tried to resolve the issue through lawyers, legal proceedings and petitions to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. According to his wife, after a year he tried to cross the border into Poland illegally, and according to the family he was shot and wounded in the stomach.
After being captured by Ukrainian authorities, he was arrested, and days later was forcibly drafted into the Ukrainian army and sent to the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine, near the front line with Russia. The family appealed again to the Foreign Ministry and according to them did not receive assistance, and the Foreign Ministry said it and the Israeli embassy in Ukraine are providing the possible consular assistance and are doing all they can regarding his case in accordance with local law.
The draft obligation in Ukraine applies to men until age 60, given the state of emergency declared in the country due to the war with Russia. 'I am praying that he returns from there safely,' his wife said.
