As war continues to rage in Ukraine, a group of 100 Jewish orphans from the northwestern Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr was rescued and brought to safety in Romania.

Israel’s Ambassador and Consul in Romania David Saranga and Roni Shabtai spearheaded the rescue operation and were assisted by the governor of Suceava district in Romania [who was eager to help in light of the fact that his late wife was treated for cancer in Israel four years ago.]

The situation in Zhytomyr is currently extremely dangerous – a Russian missile hit a residential building in the city overnight Tuesday, killing 4 civilians, including a child.

The group’s 430-mile journey by bus took two days due to the dangers on the roads and multiple forced stops.

Shabtai met the group at the Siret border crossing to assist them in crossing into Romania. As is often the case with orphans in Ukraine, many lacked the proper documents normally needed to cross borders but Shabtai used his connections with the Romanian authorities to facilitate the group’s entry.

The children are staying in the city of Cluj for the next few days and will soon continue to Israel.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)