Zelensky: Israel’s neutrality led to Russia-Iran ties

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday tore into Israel over its stance toward his country and the Russian invasion, charging that Moscow would not have been collaborating militarily with Iran if Jerusalem had not decided against sending military aid to Kyiv.

Zelensky was speaking by video to a conference organised by the Haaretz daily.

He said the cooperation between Moscow and Tehran would not have occurred if Israeli leaders had agreed to help protect Ukraine’s skies against Russian attacks that use Iranian drones.

“This alliance of theirs would simply not have happened if your politicians had made only one decision at the time — the decision we asked for,” he said.

Israel has maintained 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 reasoning behind the decision appears to be Israel’s strategic need to maintain freedom of operations in Syria, as part of its efforts to prevent Iranian entrenchment on its doorstep. To that end, Israel cooperates with the Russian military, which largely controls Syria’s airspace.

Zelensky said the Israeli government’s decision “was seemingly adopted a long time ago — in 2014, when Russia began its aggression against Ukraine. The decision ‘not to annoy’ the Kremlin, not to help Ukraine for real.”

“I emphasise, we have been asking Israel for help since 2014,” the Ukrainian leader added, referring to the year when Russia annexed Crimea and fighting in eastern Ukraine started.

He called on Israel to make a choice in the conflict.

“Isn’t it time for your state to choose who you are with?” he said. “Is it with the democratic world, which is fighting side by side against the existential threat to its existence? Or with those who turn a blind eye to Russian terror, even when the cost of continued terror is the complete destruction of global security?”

“This alliance of theirs would simply not have happened if your politicians had made only one decision at the time — the decision we asked for,” he said.

Israel has maintained 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.