Ukraine to officially ask Israel for air defense aid

Ukraine’s foreign minister said Tuesday that Kyiv would officially request Israel to immediately send air defense supplies, as Russia continues to shower its neighbor with missiles almost eight months into its invasion.

The discussion over air supplies comes amid internal spats in Israel over deepening its cooperation with Ukraine while keeping “very sensitive” relations with Russia relatively secure.

While Israel condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and provided Kyiv with humanitarian aid, the Jewish state has refrained from sending military support, citing concern for cooperation with Moscow in Syria.

Israel's Prime Minister Yair Lapid is expected to hold a telephone conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kolyeva on Thursday, during which Kolyeva will give an official request for air defense aid. However, an Israeli security official told Ynetnews that sending military aid to Ukraine won't happen in the near future, despite Israel's "understanding of the plight of the Ukrainians and the desire to help them."

“There’s an understanding with Russia, basically a deconfliction mechanism that allows Israel to conduct operations against targets in Syria,” said Oded Eran, a senior researcher with Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.

The veteran Israeli diplomat told i24NEWS that Israel’s concerns in the matter also stretch to the vast Jewish population in Russia. 

“There is a large Jewish community in Russia, and Israel worries that they could be in danger of harsh treatment if and when Russian authorities decide to punish them for Israeli actions in Ukraine,” Eran said.

Last week, Ukraine's ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, told i24NEWS that his country expected much more from Israel, specifically "defensive weapons and equipment.”

With coordination efforts between Jerusalem and Kyiv having been initiated weeks ago, Russia accused Israel of planning to supply weapons to Ukraine, warning that such a move would harm “very sensitive” ties between Jerusalem and Moscow.

But Israel’s Justice Minister Gideon Saar told Army Radio on Tuesday that “our support for Ukraine does not include weapons systems and weaponry – and there is no change to that position.”

Eran indicated that, while he sees “no problem in supplying Ukraine with certain items of weaponry,” the Ukrainian request might be a political one rather than military.

“I wonder to what extent Ukraine needs Israeli supplies. If you look at the levels of supplies coming from Europe or the United States, they have gotten almost every type of air defense missile you could think of,” he suggested.

“There could be more political points in Ukraine’s request – maybe they are rather requesting political support in the form of air defense supplies.”

Asked if he expects Israel to meet the Ukrainian request in the coming days, Eran pointed to “growing pressure in Israel to express some sort of political support.”

“More and more people want Israel to stop sitting on the fence. There’s a growing wish to make a point. Each country has its own considerations and concerns. In Israel, we have room for flexibility to express our position.”