Ukraine accuses Israel of pro-Russian stance

Ukraine's embassy accused Israel of a clear pro-Russian position and called for taking the right side of history.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to summon the Ukrainian ambassador, the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel reports.

"While the people of Ukraine, including its significant Jewish community, are bleeding under the attacks of Russian missiles and Iranian drones, the Israeli leadership, hiding behind verbal demagoguery about its neutrality (although it no longer hides it), is actively establishing relations with the Russian Federation," the statement reads.

The so-called "neutrality" of the Israeli government is seen as a clear pro-Russian position, the embassy believes.

The Israeli government pays little attention to the opinion of its people and ignores the calls of the global Jewish diaspora, which supports Ukraine in its fight against Russian state terrorism.

"We call on the government of Israel to change its position and support Ukraine with defense means, to support freedom and the democratic world order. We expect Israel to be on the right side of history!" the embassy said in a statement.

The embassy accused Israel of "complete inaction" in providing defense assistance to Ukraine over the past 1.5 years.

Israel's pro-Russian stance is evidenced by a series of "rather controversial events" that took place in the first half of 2023 and coincided with the almost complete absence of Israeli humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

"Among them, the inconclusive visit of the Israeli Foreign Minister to Ukraine in February this year and a series of interviews with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Israeli media, including the latest with the Jerusalem Post on June 22, should be particularly noted," the statement said.

In the latter interview, Netanyahu made completely fictitious and speculative assumptions suggesting the transfer of Western weapons from the battlefield in Ukraine to the Syrian and Iranian regimes.

Moreover, the Israeli government has recently successfully held two rounds of high-level political talks with the Russian Foreign Ministry. In addition, an agreement was reached to establish another Russian diplomatic mission in Jerusalem, for which land was even allocated free of charge.

Following this statement by the Ukrainian Embassy, the Israeli Foreign Ministry plans to summon Ukraine's Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that "despite the difficult relations with Russia, Israel has been with Ukraine from the beginning of the war to the present day, publicly supporting its territorial integrity and sovereignty and voting to condemn Russia in international forums."

Last year, Israel sent an unprecedented 80 million shekels to Ukraine and has an even larger budget to help Kyiv this year.

Cohen also said that the Israeli missile warning system being tested in Kyiv will save the lives of Ukrainian civilians.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 26/06/2023