Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has directed Israel’s embassy in Kiev to relocate to Lviv in western Ukraine, near the border crossing with Poland.
The embassy staff will be working from the temporary consular office Israel opened in Lviv.
Other western nations, including the US and UK, moved their embassy staff to Lviv last week.
Israel’s diplomats in Ukraine have been working to convince the 15,000 Israelis who were in the country before the crisis to leave, but only around 3,100 have done so.
They are also preparing for the dramatic possibility of a land evacuation of Ukraine’s 150,000-200,000 Jews.
With Russia sending troops into Luhansk and Donetsk after Russian President Vladimir on Monday recognized the independence of the separatist regions, Israeli officials believe war is increasingly likely.
The assessment is that should war break out, it will be increasingly difficult for Jews to leave Ukraine by air.
The Jewish Agency also announced it would be also moving its staffers from Kiev to Lviv before reassessing the security situation early next week.
Local Jewish Agency representatives in Kyiv would continue to provide service to local Jewish community members, agency officials said.
“The Jewish Agency is closely monitoring developments in the Ukraine region and is prepared to provide assistance in various scenarios, in accordance with the relevant government ministries,” said acting Agency chairman Yaakov Hagoel said.