Returning from Uman to Israel — and disappeared: what happened to the 49-year-old Hasid at the border

The Israeli publication “Bechadrei Haredim” reported the detention of a 49-year-old follower of the Breslov movement from Beitar Illit, who was returning to Israel after celebrating Rosh Hashanah in Uman. According to the publication, the man was born in Ukraine, has lived in Israel for many years and holds Israeli citizenship.

According to journalists, while passing border control with Romania it emerged that the man was subject to conscription in Ukraine. After that, according to the publication’s sources, he was taken aside and contact with him was lost. Community representatives tried to find out where exactly the man was and what had happened to him.

The Israeli outlet’s piece says that one of the interlocutors familiar with the case linked the detention to the fact that the man spoke to law enforcement in Ukrainian. Israeli journalists also wrote that the man’s family were concerned by the lack of contact with him, and acquaintances and community representatives tried to find a way to help him return to Israel.

At the same time, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGSU) denied the claims that the Israeli citizen was mobilized directly while crossing the border. The SBGSU explained that during border control foreigners are not checked for military registration and no mobilization measures are carried out at checkpoints. According to the border guards, during processing it was found that the man not only held Israeli citizenship but also Ukrainian citizenship. Thus, according to the SBGSU, this was not only a foreigner who had been in Ukraine, but a citizen of Ukraine for whom the relevant military-registration circumstances applied.

In addition, the military registration records contained information that the man was wanted. After these circumstances were established, the border guards handed him over to representatives of the National Police for further checks.

SBGSU spokesperson Andriy Demchenko separately emphasized that the claims about mobilizing the Israeli citizen directly at the border do not correspond to the actual circumstances of the event. According to him, the information that the border guards allegedly mobilized a foreigner during border crossing is incorrect.

Thus, it is currently confirmed that the 49-year-old man was detained while leaving Ukraine, that he was also established to have Ukrainian citizenship, and that he was transferred to the National Police. At the same time, the claim by Israeli media that he was mobilized into the Ukrainian army directly at the border is denied by the Ukrainian border service.

This story became known after the end of this year’s pilgrimage to Uman for Rosh Hashanah. According to Ukrainian media, in 2026 tens of thousands of pilgrims came to Uman to celebrate the Jewish New Year.

Earlier we wrote:

• Without a visit to the TCC: volunteers can be mobilized directly to the chosen military unit
• For $70,000 and straight from a van abroad: Lubinets announced a new “service” in the mobilization system
• He wanted to “alert his people”, but they warned him: 5 years for posts about the TCC on Viber
• In Odesa region, a broker led conscripts across fields to Moldova for $6,000
• A special operation to search for draft dodgers covered Mykolaiv region and 19 other oblasts