Israeli FM to summon Ukrainian ambassador after ‘unacceptable’ accusations

Israel’s Foreign Ministry is expected to summon Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel after he issued a statement criticising Israel for its “path of close cooperation” with Russia. 

Foreign Ministry Eli Cohen said ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk would be reprimanded for the embassy’s “unacceptable” criticism of Israel.

Ukraine’s embassy in Israel wrote a long statement on its Facebook page on Sunday, saying: “While the people of Ukraine, including its substantial Jewish community, are bleeding under the onslaught of Russian missiles and Iranian drones, the Israeli leadership, hiding behind verbal demagoguery about their neutrality (albeit no longer concealing it) actively forges relations with the Russian federation.”

The embassy also lashed out at Prime Minister Netanyahu for his “speculative and fictional” assumptions after he told Jerusalem Post that Israel should be cautious with providing weapons systems to Ukraine due to the possibility of them ending up in Iran’s possession.

Taking aim at Foreign Minister Cohen, the embassy claimed that his trip to Ukraine in February was “fruitless.”

“Furthermore, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been dead silent regarding the regular anti-Semitic statements made by Putin and his minions,” the embassy concluded.

Israel chose not to react to President Putin calling President Zelensky “a disgrace to the Jewish people,” earlier this month.

Cohen defended Israel’s position on the war in Ukraine on Monday, saying “Israel has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine in an unprecedented manner.”

“Despite the complexity with Russia, Israel stood by Ukraine from the beginning of the war until today, publicly supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and even voted to condemn Russia in international forums,” Cohen added.

Israel, which has been led by three different prime ministers since the beginning of the war last year, has been reluctant to provide military assistance to Ukraine since the start of the war, fearing it would endanger its close military coordination with Russia in Syria’s skies.

Israeli airstrikes, often carried out weekly, are coordinated with Russia, so as not to hit Russian troops or military bases.