Israeli pilgrim detained after Rosh Hashanah visit was also Ukrainian citizen, border guards say

The statement came after Israeli media reported that 49-year-old Yonatan Karlinsky had been detained while leaving Ukraine and was subsequently mobilized into the Ukrainian military.

Karlinsky left Ukraine for Israel 14 years ago but returned this year to celebrate Rosh Hashanah in Uman, a major pilgrimage destination for Hasidic Jews. Israeli media outlet Mako reported that he was detained at a border crossing with Romania while traveling back to Israel.

Citing informed sources, Mako reported that Ukrainian officers realized Karlinsky was a Ukrainian citizen after he spoke to them in Ukrainian. His relatives later lost contact with him and sought assistance from Israel's Foreign Ministry. The outlet reported that they subsequently received information that he had been mobilized, although his whereabouts remained unknown.

Ukraine's Border Guard Service offered a different account. It said checks showed that Karlinsky also held Ukrainian citizenship and that military registration records listed him as wanted. Border guards therefore handed him over to police for further checks.

The agency stressed that border guards do not check foreign nationals' Ukrainian military registration status and do not conduct mobilization procedures at border crossings.

It also denied that Karlinsky had been mobilized at the checkpoint, saying such reports “do not correspond to the actual circumstances.”

The Border Guard Service did not say what happened to Karlinsky after he was handed over to police. It therefore remains unclear whether he was subsequently mobilized.