World
Family of Israeli Citizen Claims: Forcibly Conscripted into Ukrainian Army After Visit to Mother
Yevgeny Gorbietz, 42, who came to Israel in 2011, arrived in summer 2025 to visit his mother in Ukraine and was not allowed to leave the country, as authorities there believe he remains a Ukrainian citizen. According to his family, he was shot and wounded while attempting to cross the border into Poland, arrested, forcibly conscripted and sent to the Kharkiv area near the front line. The Foreign Ministry said it is providing whatever consular assistance is possible.
· Source: N12; photo as published
Yevgeny Gorbietz, 42, an Israeli citizen who came from Ukraine in 2011, arrived in Ukraine in summer 2025 to visit his elderly mother, was not allowed to leave the country for over a year, and according to an application received by the Foreign Ministry was forcibly conscripted into the Ukrainian army last month and placed near the front line.
Gorbietz came 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 was completed, but the Ukrainian authorities believe he remains a Ukrainian citizen, therefore he was prevented from leaving the country and apparently the draft obligation applies to him.
In August 2025, after visiting his mother, the 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 over a year he tried to solve the problem through lawyers, legal proceedings and appeals to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. According to his wife, after a year he attempted to cross the border into Poland illegally, and according to the family he was shot and wounded in the abdomen.
After being caught by the Ukrainian authorities he was arrested, and after a few days was forcibly conscripted into the Ukrainian army and sent to the Kharkiv area 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 that it and the embassy in Ukraine are providing whatever consular assistance is possible and are doing what they can in his matter subject to local law.
The draft obligation in Ukraine applies to men up to age 60, given the state of emergency declared in the country due to the war with Russia. 'I pray that he comes back from there safely,' said his wife.
Source: N12
