With the Iron Dome, Israel has one of the most modern air defense systems in the world. Ukraine could urgently use such support to defend against Russian drone squadrons. But Israel refuses. In an interview, President Herzog tries to explain why.
Israel's head of state Izchak Herzog has defended his country against criticism that it does not provide sufficient support to Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia. "We understand the enormous distress and pain of the Ukrainian people," Herzog said in an interview with US broadcaster CNN. There are weapons that cannot be exported, said Herzog. "There are things we do not want to fall into the hands of our enemies. There are secrets we cannot share."
Ukraine has repeatedly asked Israel for arms deliveries specifically to reduce the risk of Russian airstrikes using Iranian combat drones. Above all, the Ukrainian military is hoping for support from the state-of-the-art Iron Dome defense system, which protects Israel from air raids from the Palestinian territories. Although the Israeli leadership condemns the Russian attack on Ukraine, it refuses to supply arms for its own security interests. Israel also does not support the sanctions against Russia.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the relationship between the two countries has improved recently. "We are at the beginning of cooperation, this is a positive trend in relations with Israel," Zelenskyi told journalists on Wednesday when he announced the exchange of intelligence, which is said to primarily affect Iranian drones.
"The data currently exchanged by the secret service once again confirms what our services knew: Russia has already used around 400 Iranian drones against the Ukrainian civilian population," said Zelenskyy. According to him, 60 to 70 percent of the unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by the Ukrainian air defenses.
At a conference organized by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Monday, Zelenskyy accused the Israeli government of favoring an "alliance" between Russia and Iran with its neutral stance. On Wednesday he suddenly reported on the progress of the relationship. However, that is not enough, Zelenskyj added. Israel is a state that really knows what war means. "And I think he should support Ukraine more," said the head of state.
Israel has so far held back in the Russian war of aggression with the support of Ukraine. So far, Israel has not been willing to provide Ukraine with the state-of-the-art Iron Dome anti-aircraft shield developed jointly with the United States. Russia's active military role in Israel's neighboring state of Syria plays a role in Israel's largely neutral stance on the Ukraine war.
