Israeli Foreign Minister Visits Kyiv Amid Growing Pressure Over Military Aid

Israel’s foreign minister has arrived at Kyiv, the first public visit to Ukraine’s capital by a senior Israeli official since Russia’s invasion last year.Eli Cohen’s visit Thursday came just before the first anniversary of the invasion, and as Western nations seek to increase aid to Ukraine.Since the outbreak of the war, Israel has walked a tightrope between assisting Ukraine and avoiding friction with Russia, with which it has strategic regional interests. Unlike other Western countries, Israel has not imposed sanctions on Russia or Russian officials or provided Ukraine with weapons. It has provided humanitarian support to Ukraine, including a field hospital.Mr. Cohen was set to meet with President Zelensky as well as senior Ukrainian officials and leaders of the country’s Jewish community as part of the brief trip.His visit also coincides with the reopening of the Israeli embassy at Kyiv, which has been closed because of the war. The Jerusalem Post reported that Mr. Cohen would meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, as well as with members of Kyiv’s Jewish community. A visit to Babyn Yar, where thousands of Jews were massacred by the Nazis in September 1941, was also on Mr. Cohen’s agenda. It was unclear whether Mr. Cohen would announce additional assistance to Ukraine during his lightning visit or whether the visit signifies greater Israeli engagement going forward. Prior to his visit, Ukraine had asked Israel for a loan as well as clear public condemnation of the Russian invasion. “We’re here on an important visit of solidarity with the Ukrainian nation, which has certainly endured a very hard time in the past year,” Mr. Cohen said during a visit to a mass grave memorial at Bucha, outside Kyiv. He said Israel has supported Ukraine and provided humanitarian aid, and would continue to do so.Mr. Cohen was reminded of the hardships endured by Ukrainians when air raid sirens sounded as he entered the country’s foreign ministry. Mr. Cohen said earlier this year that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government “will definitely do one thing: publicly, we will talk less” about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but it will keep providing Ukraine with humanitarian aid. Shortly after taking office, he spoke to the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov.Israel maintains good working relations with both warring countries, and has large populations of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants. Israel also relies on security coordination with Russia over neighboring Syria, where Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against Iranian military positions in the past decade.As other Western nations step up assistance to Ukraine, pressure has built on Israel to share some of its sophisticated military means, including from the U.S.Secretary Blinken said following a meeting with Mr. Netanyahu in Jerusalem last month that he had emphasized “the importance of providing support for all of Ukraine’s needs — humanitarian, economic, and security.”A former member of the Knesset’s foreign affairs and defense committee, Yossi Shain, said Israel’s rightist government — which has butted heads with the Biden administration on the issue of West Bank settlements — may try to gain Washington’s favor by providing defensive capabilities to Ukraine, while “not crossing certain lines that will endanger its lesser involvement because of the threats of Russia” in neighboring Syria.Last year, a former Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, attempted briefly to mediate between the sides, flying to Moscow in March shortly after Russia’s invasion and meeting with President Putin. Mr. Bennett said in an interview earlier this month that Mr. Putin assured him at the time that Russia would not kill Mr. Zelensky.

Israeli Foreign Minister Visits Kyiv Amid Growing Pressure Over Military Aid

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