Phone Call Between Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu

  • Middle East Policy

    Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.

Policy Brief Program

September 2023


Fast Facts

Zelenskyy-Netanyhu Phone Call:

 

Israeli Reluctance to Provide Weapons in Ukraine:

  • Israel maintains that providing Ukraine with civil defenses and aid is a balanced approach, given their “situation.” 
    • Israel supplies Ukraine with humanitarian aid and lifesaving defensive equipment but not weapons systems, due to its desire to maintain coordination with Russia against Iranian targets in Syria.
    • Tel Aviv is concerned that if it provides Ukraine with weapons, Russia will retaliate and limit Israel’s freedom of action in Syria. Additionally, Israeli weapons could fall into Iranian hands.

 

Israeli-Ukrainian Relations:

  • The cultural and humanitarian cooperation between Ukraine and Israel is supported by the 500,000 Ukrainians in Israel, and the 100,000 members of the Jewish faith in Ukraine.
  • Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Ukraine in February and is the highest-level Israeli official to do so since the Russian invasion. 
    • Zelenskyy has requested that Netanyahu visit as a sign of solidarity, though the Israeli Prime Minister has not. 
  • Both countries have a shared adversary in Iran. In 2022, Iran became one of the few nations that officially supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
  • By December 2022, Iran reportedly supplied Russia with 1,700 drones capable of suicide bombings, surveillance, and combat, with plans in February to produce around 6,000 more.
Image: President of Ukraine
  • Middle East Policy

    Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.

Scroll to Top