Following an alleged warming-up of ties under the Netanyahu government, Kiev on Sunday infuriated Israel by criticizing Jerusalem’s recent policy towards Moscow, saying it had chosen the “path of close cooperation” with Russia.
In a post on its Facebook page, the Embassy of Ukraine in Israel wrote: “The so-called ‘neutrality’ of Israel[‘s] The government is seen as taking a clear pro-Russian position.”
The message cited “a series of rather controversial events in the first half of 2023,” which it viewed as negative.
The embassy described Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s trip to Kiev in February as “fruitless” and in a recent interview accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of making “completely fictitious and speculative assumptions”.
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In an interview with the Jerusalem Post last week, Netanyahu said: “We also have concerns that any systems we give to Ukraine could be used against us because they could fall into Iranian hands… and by the way, that’s not a theoretical possibility.” ‘ It actually happened with the Western anti-tank weapons that we now find on our borders. So we have to be very careful here.”
Ukrainian Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk told the Times of Israel that Netanyahu’s claims were unfounded.
In response to the embassy post, the State Department plans to subpoena Kornychuk for a reprimand in the coming days.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (left) and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba speak during a news conference in Kiev, Ukraine, February 16, 2023. (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)
In a briefing to reporters on Sunday, Cohen said, “Despite the complexities with Russia, Israel has stood by Ukraine since the outbreak of war to date, even voting in international forums to condemn Russia.” Cohen added that Israel is the Ukraine sent “unprecedented humanitarian aid (80 million NIS)”. [approximately $22 million] A higher amount is planned for this year.”
During his trip to Ukraine, Cohen was well received by his counterpart Dmytro Kuleba after pledging $200 million in loan guarantees for healthcare and civilian infrastructure, and assistance in developing an intelligent early warning system.
But Kiev is increasingly frustrated as the schedule for the system’s rollout has been pushed back to September and access to credit is difficult.
“These guys take their time,” Korniychuk said. “You are not in a war.”
Sunday’s embassy statement also criticized Israel for holding “two rounds of high-level political negotiations with Russia’s foreign ministry.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony in Moscow June 12, 2023. (Gavriil Grigorov / Sputnik / AFP)
It also condemned the agreement between Israel and Moscow earlier this month, in which Moscow agreed to open an embassy field office in Jerusalem while resolving a land dispute.
Kyiv accused senior Israeli officials attending the Russia Day reception in Jerusalem earlier this month of “a blatant disregard for moral boundaries.”
“Furthermore,” the statement said, “the Israeli Foreign Ministry has been absolutely silent on the regular anti-Semitic statements made by Putin and his henchmen.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently claimed that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, is viewed by other members of the religion as a “disgrace” to his beliefs. Earlier this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said even if Zelenskyi was Jewish, it didn’t matter because even Hitler had “Jewish blood.”
Last week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Israeli ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky of “glorifying Nazism” over his comments about Ukrainian resistance fighters who were allied with the Nazis.
“No party should lecture the State of Israel, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or its diplomats on the importance of preserving the memory of the Holocaust or combating historical distortions,” the State Department replied.
Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska (center) meets with President Isaac Herzog (right) and Herzog’s wife Michal in Tel Aviv, June 19, 2023. (Igal Slavin)
Korniychuk also told the Times of Israel that Netanyahu refused to meet Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska during her visit to Israel last week and instead sent his wife Sara to meet her. The prime minister’s office declined to comment.
“While the people of Ukraine, including its large Jewish community, are bleeding under the onslaught of Russian missiles and Iranian drones, the Israeli leadership is actively forging ties with the Russian Federation, hiding behind verbal demagogues about its neutrality (although it no longer maintains it). hidden). ‘ the message said.
“We call on the Israeli government to change its position and support Ukraine with defensive means in order to support freedom and a democratic world order,” it concluded. “We expect Israel to be on the right side of history!”
People take cover at a metro station during a Russian missile attack in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, May 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Israel has not sent Ukraine the requested defense weapons, but has condemned the Russian invasion. It has also sent significant humanitarian aid, including a field hospital that operated on Ukrainian territory near Lviv for six weeks.
Russia maintains a military presence in Syria, Israel’s northern and belligerent neighbor. The need to balance security interests at home and politics abroad has prompted a relatively muted response from successive Israeli governments, which have attempted to maintain ties with both Moscow and Kiev.
Last month, several Israeli ministries came together to hold a two-day conference on mental and physical rehabilitation in Lviv. The controversy and Zelenska’s visit seemed to indicate that Kiev was quite pleased with Israel’s recent actions.
Also last week, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov. The results of the call indicated a positive conversation, among other apparent signs of improving relations.