Russia’s use of Iranian attack drones against Ukrainian civilians should have swayed Israel to support Kyiv and send anti-drone and antimissile systems, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk told The Jerusalem Post Thursday.
Israel’s Defense Ministry already has a list of what the country needs, he said in a telephone conversation.
“What else would have to happen so that Israel would change its position and start helping us at least with the antimissile and anti-drone system?” he asked.
Korniychuk spoke following a conversation last week between the foreign ministers of both countries and in advance of an anticipated call between the nations’ two defense ministers. He expressed frustration that Israel still lagged behind in its support of his country.
An issue for Israel has been the fear that its technology could fall into Russian hands and then be transferred to Iran, compounded with the risk of alienating Moscow.
Why has Israel not sent technology to Ukraine?
There were other arguments that made it a logical move, Korniychuk said, adding that the technology to defend Ukraine would assist Israel, which could battle-test the system against Iranian armed drones that Tehran could one day turn against the Jewish state.
Those systems are less expensive than the ones Ukraine has now and thus could help the country not waste resources in battling Russia.
The Russian-Iranian alliance has made it particularly puzzling for Korniychuk to understand why Israel has not transformed its support from humanitarian aid into defensive military assistance, particularly since the United States and Europe have upped their game in arming Ukraine, with Germany and the US sending tanks.
“For me as an ambassador, it is unclear how come after Iran became the big ally of Russia in this war [that] Israel did not step ahead and start to work more with us on this defensive issue,” Korniychuk said. “We do hope this will happen” and “that Israel will start openly to support Ukraine with [defensive] weapons directly or through its partners.”
“At the moment, we are in the middle of the most cruel war since World War II,” he said. “Our people are dying by the thousands, and we are expecting immediate help from our friends.”
“At the moment were are in the middle of the most cruel war since World War II, our people are dying by the thousands and we are expecting immediate help from our friends,”
Ukrainian Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk
“At the moment, we are in the middle of the most cruel war since World War II,” he said. “Our people are dying by the thousands, and we are expecting immediate help from our friends.”
Ukraine is encouraged that Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has promised to visit his country, but it is important that he does not come empty-handed, Korniychuk said.
“The visit itself is not important unless we are talking about something very practical,” which would have to go beyond the medical help Israel has already provided, he said.
Korniychuk said he understood that the US national security advisor had raised the issue of increased Israeli support for Ukraine when he visited Israel last week, and he hoped that continued pressures from the Biden administration would be determinative.
But he did not clarify what kind of increased Israeli assistance to Ukraine the Biden administration wanted to see.
“I do hope that [US pressure] will help us,” Korniychuk said, adding that “we are suffering every single day, and we do expect the assistance of our friends and partners now – not tomorrow and not six months from now.”•