Israel rescues group of Ukrainian Jewish orphans at Romanian border

Israel rescues group of Ukrainian Jewish orphans at Romanian border.

More than 100 Jewish orphans rescued from the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr have been received by Israeli officials at the Romanian border, according to Israeli diplomatic services.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted late on Tuesday that the children were met at the border and given blankets and warm clothing in advance of their hoped-for journey to Israel.

Roni Shabtai, Israel’s consul in Romania, wished them a “better life” during a short speech on their bus.

Zhytomyr, which lies about 140 kilometres west of Kiev, suffered deaths on Tuesday when it was struck by Russian fire.

Israel estimates that about 200,000 Ukrainian residents have a right to emigrate to Israel either because of their personal Jewish faith or because of their descent from Jewish individuals.