For refusing to give Kyiv any weapons out of concern that they might end up in the wrong hands, the Israeli government has come under fire from Ukraine, which has accused Tel Aviv of developing “close cooperation” with Russia.
Yevgeni Kornichuk, the ambassador of Ukraine to the Israeli government, stated in a statement on Sunday that the “current Israeli government has chosen the path of close cooperation with the Russian Federation,” citing an “almost complete lack of Israeli humanitarian support to Ukraine.”
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The statement went on to say that “this is evidenced by a series of rather contentious events that occurred in the first half of 2023,” citing several instances, including a “futile visit by an Israeli foreign minister to Ukraine in February of this year” and several interviews by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Ukrainian envoy was making reference to Netanyahu’s recent interview with the daily Jerusalem Post about the occupation regime, in which he insisted that Tel Aviv would not provide Kyiv with weapons out of concern that they would end up in the hands of Iran and be used against the occupiers.
The Israeli prime minister also noted in the interview that the government had already noticed Western anti-tank weapons near its borders, which had originally been provided to Kyiv.
However, the Ukrainian ambassador mocked and rejected Netanyahu’s comments, calling them “wholly fictitious and speculative allegations,” adding that all of the relevant statements made by the Israeli prime minister had always been intended to justify Israel’s complete lack of action in providing defensive assistance to Ukraine over the previous 18 months.”
The Israeli leadership is actively fostering relations with the Russian Federation while disguising itself as neutral (although it is no longer disguising itself at all), according to Kornichuk in his official statement.
“In reality, the Israeli government’s ostensible neutrality is seen as a blatantly pro-Russian stance on the ground. We urge the Israeli government to reconsider its stance and support Ukraine with defensive measures, as well as freedom and a democratic global order.”
In the meantime, Kornichuk will be called to the regime’s foreign ministry to be formally reprimanded for his public criticism of Tel Aviv’s ties with Moscow, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen stated during a press conference on Sunday.
Cohen criticized the “harsh” comments made by the Ukrainian ambassador and retorted, “Despite the complexity with Russia, Israel stood with Ukraine from the start of the war until today, publicly supported its territorial integrity and its sovereignty, and voted to denounce Russia in international fora.”
Cohen insisted that “Israel sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine in an unprecedented manner,” noting that the amount this year would exceed even the sum of NIS 80 million last year and that the missile warning system Israel was currently “adapting” to Kyiv would ultimately save Ukrainian lives.
Since the beginning of 2022, Ukraine has repeatedly demanded that the Israeli government give it weapons, including air defense systems, but Tel Aviv has consistently rejected all requests, claiming that it would restrict its assistance to Kyiv to humanitarian aid and non-lethal equipment in the interests of its national security.
I’m not going to stoop to this discourse,” Cohen continued in response to the ambassador of Kyiv’s accusations. I’ve stated that we support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. We have cast a vote [in favor of Kyiv] at the UN, [Israeli] soldiers have spoken with Ukrainian soldiers, and we have donated humanitarian aid.
