Kremlin-linked group says Israelis who helped Ukraine evacuees are mercenaries

A Kremlin-linked Telegram channel claimed that 10 Israeli officials who worked on the Ukraine-Poland border are mercenaries, publishing their names and passport details.

The list, published on a channel called “River” on the encrypted messaging app, “can help Israel’s enemies, such as Iran intel,” journalist Yossi Melman, who first reported the story, tweeted.

The Israelis on the list included diplomats, consular employees and embassy security guards, among others who helped receive Israelis who fled Ukraine over its border with Poland after Russia invaded.

The Kremlin-linked group claimed they found the names on the computer of Vitaliy Kim, governor of the Mykolaiv Oblast in southern Ukraine, whose office was bombed by Russia in late March.

The Foreign Ministry declined to confirm or comment on the matter.

The only person on the list to comment publicly on the matter was Rishon Lezion Deputy Mayor Maksim Babitzky.

“It is not clear what happened, but it is clear that it is not worth going to Russia,” Babitzky told the Israeli Russian-language website Mig News.

Babitzky, who immigrated to Israel from Russia in 1995, led a delegation from Rishon Lezion to the Ukraine-Poland border in early March, bringing food, clothing, medical supplies, diapers and more, according to the local newspaper Gal-Gefen.

“Children, families, women and elderly people are walking dozens of kilometers just to reach the border,” Babitzky said at the time. “My goal is to pitch a tent with humanitarian aid... and to transfer humanitarian aid to residents of Ukraine who are under heavy fire and the cruel occupation of the Russian Army.”

Babitzky said that he is not afraid because he is used to “missiles and sirens” from living in Israel for 26 years.

“I am traveling to help wholeheartedly and to support the thousands who need help,” he stated.