According to Israeli media, Putin’s former Special Envoy for Sustainable Development Chubays, who left the country after the start of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, was seen at the Population, Immigration and Border Administration in the city of Nof Hagalil, where the majority of Russian-born Jews live in northern Israel.
Chubays, who denied the allegations that he immigrated to Israel, said in a statement to the press that he “applied to change his status regarding his visit to Israel”.
On the other hand, officials speaking to the Israel Public Broadcasting Organization (KAN) said that Chubays had applied for immigration to Israel.
Chubays, who held high-level positions in the Russian administration, undertook duties such as the Private Secretary of Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s, and the Russian representative in international organizations during the Putin period.
The Kremlin announced that Chubays had resigned from his post as Putin’s adviser, a month after Moscow’s attack on Ukraine began.
It was reported that Chubays came to Israel in May last year for the first time after leaving Russia.
Israel opened its doors to more than 1 million Jewish immigrants from the countries that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. According to Israel’s so-called Law of Return, Jews who apply to immigrate to Israel can obtain Israeli citizenship by doing Aliya (Immigration).
According to the information shared by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, a record number of Jews immigrated to Israel from various countries of the world was reached in 2022. It was stated that approximately 73,000 Jews immigrated to the country throughout the year, the highest number in the last 23 years.
In 2021, the number of emigrated Jews was recorded as 25,000.
As a result of the direct impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, in 2022, the highest number of emigration was from Russia with 58.1 percent and from Ukraine with 21.3 percent.