Nearly 20,500 Jews left Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. This was reported by BBC, referring to the Jewish organization Sokhnut, which assists Jews in repatriation.

The agency estimates that 165,000 Jews were living in Russia before the war, leaving the country up to 12%. A large number of Russian Jews oppose the war and "no longer feel safe," says BBC.

"I felt I had to do something to show my utter unaccountability and unhappiness with the invasion of Ukraine. But I would have put myself in danger if I had done so while I was in Moscow," said Pinchas Goldschmidt, the former head Rabbi of Moscow. He left Russia two weeks after the war began.

"Just when something happens in Russia, some kind of upheaval, some kind of change, Jews are always in trouble," says Hanne Sternschis, a historian of Jewish history in Russia.

Many Jews immigrated to Israel. The Law on Return grants the right to citizenship to anyone who can prove that his or her grandparents were of Jewish descent.

At the beginning of July, the Ministry of Justice requested the liquidation of the Russian branch of Sokhnut. In the opinion of the Ministry, Sokhnut was illegally collecting personal data of Russian citizens.

In response, Sokhnut closed its offices in Russia and moved to remote work. The final court hearing in the case of Sokhnut was scheduled for 19 August.