Israel has not revoked the visa-free agreement for Ukrainians.
Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine, Mykhailo Brodskyy explained that the request to fill out a questionnaire and obtain a departure permit is "a temporary measure taken for a period of two weeks to regulate the entry of refugees, repatriates, tourists and other categories of Ukrainian citizens to Israel."
The ambassador wrote about this on his Facebook page.
"Only those who have violated their visas and stayed in Israel illegally will be denied entry. Everyone else will be allowed to enter Israel. The questionnaires and quotas for refugees will be reviewed in two weeks, " Brodsky explained.
The ambassador added that Israel is preparing to accept tens of thousands of refugees from Ukraine who have the right to Repatriation under the Law of Return.
"Israel is a Jewish democratic state, and our priority is to receive refugees who have the right to repatriation. This is what the main resources of the state will be directed to. Those who do not have the right to repatriate but have close relatives in Israel will be able to obtain the refugee status. They are not covered by the quota which will be set by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the following two weeks (25,000, of which about 20,000 are already in Israel)," Brodskyy explained.
On 15 March, the Ukrainian embassy in Israel announced that Israel had abolished the possibility of visa-free entry for Ukrainian citizens, but introduced an alternative procedure for authorizing the trip. Permits are issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak called it "an unfriendly step that needs immediate correction."