Ukrainian Officials Are Jealous of US Defense of Israel During Iran Attack

Zelensky said Israel 'was not alone' in its defense

Ukrainian officials have expressed envy over the US’s response to an Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel that came in retaliation for the Israeli bombing of Iran’s consulate in Syria.

The US, the UK, France, and Jordan all intervened to help intercept Iranian drones and missiles. “The whole world saw that Israel was not alone in this defense — the threat in the sky was also being eliminated by its allies,” Zelensky said.

The attack on Israel came as Russia has stepped up its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which Moscow said was a response to Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries inside Russian territory. Ukraine has suffered serious blows in the strikes as it’s running low on air defenses, and Russia’s intelligence continues to improve.

“When Ukraine says that its allies should not turn a blind eye to Russian missiles and drones, it means action is needed — a bold one,” Zelensky said. “It is not rhetoric that protects the sky, it is not opinions that curb the production of missiles and drones for terror.”

The US and NATO have not directly intervened on Ukraine’s behalf due to the obvious risk of a direct war with Russia that could quickly turn nuclear. In the early days of the war, Zelensky was asking NATO to impose a no-fly zone, which would have required shooting down Russian planes and bombing surface-to-air missile systems inside Russia, but the idea received little support in Washington.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba acknowledged that the US and NATO wouldn’t directly intervene but called for more military aid. “Even if you cannot act the way you act in Israel, give us what we need, and we will do the rest of the job,” he said.

The $60 billion President Biden is seeking to fuel the proxy war in Ukraine still hasn’t passed through Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he would work on getting more military aid to Israel this week, and the White House has said that it would only support legislation that also included spending for Ukraine and Taiwan.

Author: Dave DeCamp

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