Ukraine's Jews are braced for conflict as Russia's troops invaded the country last night and Vladimir Putin pledged to "de-nazify" the country.

In a statement on Russian television, Mr Putin said of the military operation: “Its goal is to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide… for the last eight years. And for this we will strive for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.”

Ukraine's Jewish President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the invasion with an impassioned plea to his country's citizens, saying: "If they try to take our county - our freedom, our lives, the lives of our children - we will be defending ourselves."

Speaking to the Russian military, he said: "As you attack, it will be our faces you see, not our backs."

The Israeli foreign ministry has also said it's standing by to assist the Ukrainian Jewish population but has not received a call for assistance yet. The world Jewish relief charity has launched a crisis appeal saying they are: "Shocked and devastated by the news this morning that Russian forces have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine."

We are shocked and devastated by the news this morning that Russian forces have launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine. We unequivocally condemn unprovoked violence affecting innocent civilians across the country. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/iQAoOJokAQ

— World Jewish Relief (@WJRelief) February 24, 2022

Rabbi Meir Stambler told Haaretz earlier this week that they're planning to distribute 20,000 emergency food rations to Jewish families across the east of the country. He said: “We are working on safety precautions for all the rabbis, communities, schools and synagogues..They [Russia] want to accuse Ukrainians of being antisemites or fascists.”

map ukraine

Russian attacks have been reported across Ukraine, including cities with significant Jewish populations such as Kharkiv, Odessa and Kiev

In the UK, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has urged the community to give generously to help Ukraine’s Jews, saying that “all Jewish people are responsible for one another”.

Highlighting the crisis appeal launched on Wednesday by World Jewish Relief, Rabbi Mirvis wrote on Twitter: “In addition to having the Jews of Ukraine in our prayers, we must do what we can to support them in their time of need. I encourage all who are able to donate.”

WJR said it was responding to reports that Russia had ordered some of its 150,000 troops massed around Ukraine’s borders into rebel-held regions in the east of the country. 

Other groups are also urgently seeking donations to support Ukraine’s 100,000 Jews.

Humanitarian aid charity Hatzalah Ukraine is hoping to raise £200,000 towards the costs of evacuations, transport, emergency medicine, police escorts and food and water. 

Hatzalah has already announced an evacuation plan for the thousands of Jews living in the Cherkasy region of Ukraine. 

And the Chief Rabbi of Kiev, Yaakov Dov Bleich, has issued his own fundraising request on behalf of the thousands of members of his own community. 

WJR’s chief executive Paul Anticoni said: “I find it almost unimaginable that it has come to this. But World Jewish Relief’s modern operational history is rooted in the Jewish community of Ukraine.”

Despite the looming threat, many of Ukraine’s Jews are refusing to flee — and even preparing to fight, according to Ukrainian radio journalist Pavlo Novikov. 

Mr Novikov, who has close ties to the Jewish community in Kiev, said: “For now people are still here, they are not fleeing in large numbers. 

“The Rabbi of Ukraine is still here  and kids are still going to school.” 

It comes as the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced it was pulling out of its embassy in the Ukrainian capital.

The Israeli mission to Ukraine will now be based in Lviv, in the west of the country where the UK has also temporarily based its embassy.

Meanwhile, 75 immigrants from Ukraine landed in Israel on Sunday afternoon having made aliyah. Pictures of their arrival show young children in the group waving Israeli flags. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CaRts6eBgk9/

Speaking at the airport as they arrived, Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata said: “Our message to the Jews of Ukraine is very clear: Israel will always be their home.”