Israeli FM arrives in Ukraine ahead of meeting with Zelenskyy

Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen arrived in Ukraine on Thursday where he is expected to meet with his counterpart as well as President Zelenskyy. 

Cohen arrived in Bucha, a Kiev suburb, with an overnight train from the Polish city of Przemysl. Visiting the mass grave which was found in Bucha last year, Cohen said: “It is impossible to remain indifferent in the face of the harsh sights and horror stories that I have heard and been exposed to. Israel condemns any intentional harm to innocents.”

The Israeli foreign minister also met with the Ukrainian Jewish community, visiting a woman whose house had been damaged in rocket attack.

Cohen visited the memorial site at Babi Yar, where 33,771 Jews were shot dead in September 1941 in a mass killing dubbed the “Holocaust of bullets.”

Laying a wreath at the site, Cohen said: “The Holocaust is a black stain in human history and we must remember that the systematic murder of Jews, wherever they are, will never return. Standing here today as foreign minister and a representative of Israel, I can guarantee that we will do everything to protect our people and provide them with security against those who sow evil against them. ”

Cohen will also attend the official re-opening of Israel’s embassy in Ukraine. “In the last year, Israel has stood by the Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. Today, we will raise the Israeli flag at the Israeli embassy in Kiev, which will return to its previous activity with the aim of strengthening relations between the countries,” he said said upon arrival in Ukraine.

Israel has walked a fine line in the war in Ukraine since its outbreak, trying to both mediate in the first months of the war, and avoid angering either side.

The previous government, led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, eventually condemned Russia for its war crimes in Ukraine, angering Moscow. Ukraine has also been critical of Israel, accusing it of neutrality and criticising it for refusing to provide weapons.

Prime Minister Netanyahu promised prior to his re-election that he would “look into” providing Ukraine with weapons, but is yet to publicly commit to anything.

In his inaugural speech last month, Cohen said the new government would differ from the previous regarding its rhetoric vis a vis the war in Ukraine.

“With regard to the Russia-Ukraine issue, we will do one thing for certain. In public – we will talk less. We will prepare a detailed reference from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Cabinet to formulate a responsible policy. In any case, the significant humanitarian aid to Ukraine will continue,” Cohen said.