Ukraine Says It Will Formally Request Air Defenses From Israel

Israeli officials maintain they will not be providing arms

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Kyiv will formally ask Israel to provide air defense systems amid a flurry of Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Up to this point, Israel has not provided Ukraine with weapons, and Israeli officials say that policy won’t change. An Israeli official told Ynet that sending military aid to Ukraine won’t happen in the near future. But Kuleba is expected to make the request in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid that is scheduled for Thursday.

In another sign that Israel is not keen on supporting Ukraine with military aid, Haaretz reported that Israel rejected a request from Ukraine to hold a call between Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov.

Kuleba also said Tuesday that he was submitting a proposal to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to cut diplomatic ties with Iran over their alleged support for Israel. Russian kamikaze drones reined down on Kyiv on Monday that Ukraine and the US say were provided by Iran, although both Moscow and Tehran deny the charge.

Citing unnamed Iranian officials, Reuters reported that Iran has agreed to provide Russia with drones and surface-to-surface missiles, but the report is not confirmed. The Pentagon said it doesn’t have any information to “corroborate” the claims made in the report.

The US, Britain, and France plan to raise the issue of alleged Iranian drone transfers to Russia at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, and Ukraine has invited UN experts to inspect what they say are downed Iranian drones.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.