Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday attacked Israel over its attitude towards his country and the Russian invasionwho accused Moscow of not militarily cooperating with Iran unless Jerusalem had decided not to send military aid to Kyiv.
Zelenskyy spoke via video at a conference organized by the Haaretz daily newspaper.
He said there would have been no cooperation between Moscow and Tehran if the Israeli leadership had agreed to help protect the skies over Ukraine from Russian attacks using Iranian drones.
“This alliance of yours simply would not have come about if your politicians had made only one decision at the time: the one we are demanding,” he said.
Israel has had a strict policy of not providing military aid to Ukraine since Russian troops invaded on February 24.including systems that could help it intercept Russian missile and drone attacks.
The reason for the decision appears to be Israel’s strategic need to maintain freedom of operations in Syria as part of its efforts to prevent an Iranian entrenchment at its gates. To this end, Israel is cooperating with the Russian military, which largely controls Syrian airspace.
Zelenskyy said the Israeli government’s decision was “apparently made a long time ago: in 2014, when Russia began its aggression against Ukraine.” The decision “not to bother the Kremlin”, not really to help Ukraine”.
“I insist that we have been asking Israel for help since 2014” added the Ukrainian leader, referring to the year when Russia annexed Crimea and fighting began in eastern Ukraine.
He urged Israel to make a decision in the conflict.
“Isn’t it about time your state chose who it was with?” he said. “Are you with the democratic world fighting side by side against the existential threat to its very existence? Or those who turn a blind eye to Russian terror, even if the price of continued terror is the complete destruction of world security?
Zelenskyy alluded to Israeli concerns about Iran in his speech and said so The Russian military presence in Syria has been “significantly reduced” as Moscow seeks to send reinforcements to counter Ukrainian advances.
According to Zelensky, Russia has ordered about 2,000 drones from Iran, the same type Moscow has used in its recent attacks on Ukraine, according to Kyiv.
“The sickening sound of Iranian drones can be heard in our skies every night. According to our intelligence, Russia has ordered about 2,000 ‘Shaheds’ from Iran,” he said.
Zelensky said “Iranian trainers came to teach the Russians how to use drones” in Ukraine, echoing a White House claim last week that Iran had sent military personnel to help train drone operators in Crimea .
“Unfortunately we don’t have our own ‘Iron Dome’. We still do not have a modern and effective anti-aircraft and missile defense system capable of securing our skies.” “In eight months of a full-blown war, Russia deployed nearly 4,500 missiles against us. And his inventory of missiles is dwindling. Therefore, Russia looked to other countries for affordable weapons to continue terror. He found her in Iran.”
said now Russia could help Iran develop its nuclear program in exchange for the drones supplied by the Islamic Republic. “I have a question for you: How do you think Russia is paying Iran for this? Is Iran only interested in money? It is probably not about money, but about Russian help for the Iranian nuclear program. This is probably precisely the point of their alliance. And this alliance of yours,” he accused, “simply would not have come about if your politicians had made a single decision at the time: the one we are demanding.”
And he responded: “Every time in Ukraine, at the meetings of the Commander-in-Chief General Staff, we talk about the terror of Russian missiles and drones, we also talk about our partners who are already helping or can help protect the sky. . Unfortunately, the words – Israel, Israeli – do not sound at this time. Of course, this is the decision of your state, your governments.”
Zelenskyi stressed that Ukraine has been asking Israel for help since 2014. “If we had immediately secured our skies in the face of a missile and drone threat, now Russia would not even have a reason to go to Iran and offer anything in exchange for the horror,” he argued. “But that’s exactly what happened. And I think this alliance of yours might still be meaningless. If we act together with you as we do with other democracies.”
The photo shows part of an unmanned aerial vehicle, which Ukrainian military officials described as an Iranian-made Shahed-136 suicide drone, which was shot down near the city of Kupyansk during the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine This handheld image was released on September 13, 2022 (Credit: THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTORATE OF THE UKRAINIAN ARED FORCES/HANDOUT VIA Portal)
Last week, Prime Minister Jair Lapid In a phone call with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba Israels expressed “deep concerns about military relations between Iran and Russia”.
Although Zelenskyy rebuked the leaders of the Jewish state in his remarks Monday, he thanked the Israeli public for supporting his country.
“Thank you and all Israeli media who are spreading the truth about this war and condemning Russian terror,” he said. “I am grateful to all your people who took to the streets after the start of all-out war and saw: we leaned on the promised land.
“I think we’ll see support in the sky as well,” he concluded.
So far, Defense Minister Benny Gantz spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov on MondayIsrael’s offer to help Ukraine set up an early warning system to alert citizens to airborne threats such as missiles, missiles and attack drones.
Gantz reiterated Israel’s commitment to the Ukrainian people and support to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion by delivering humanitarian aid and life-saving equipment, but stressed “the operational limitations” Israel faces regarding the Russian presence in Syria.
“As a result, Israel will not supply Ukraine with weapons systems,” Gantz told Reznikov.
Instead, the two agreed on a technical dialogue about Israeli help in setting up a civilian early warning system.
About: The Times of Israel