Iran is reportedly selling missiles in addition to drones to Russia.
With Russia increasingly using Iranian drones and other weapons for its continued assault on Ukraine, there is, once again, talk about whether Israel should be getting involved in the war.
For example, a recent tweet from Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai caused quite an uproar.
“This morning,” Shai wrote on Sunday, “it was reported that Iran is transferring ballistic missiles to
Russia. There is no longer any doubt about where Israel should stand in this bloody conflict. The time has come for Ukraine to receive military aid as well, just as the USA and NATO countries provide.”
Ukrainian diplomatic sources hoped that Shai’s statement marked a shift in Jerusalem towards aiding their war effort, while at least one prominent Russian responded furiously.
Russia and Ukraine on idea of more Israeli involvement
Russian former president Dmitry Medvedev warned on his popular Telegram channel: "It looks like Israel is going to provide arms to the regime in Kyiv. A very reckless move. It will destroy government relations between our countries."
People take the title “minister” seriously and non-Israelis often expect a level of message discipline that doesn’t really exist in Israel. In reality, Shai is not a member of the Security Cabinet, nor is he a realistic candidate to return to the Knesset after the election in two weeks. He is the only member of the broader cabinet that has publicly called for military aid to Ukraine, though others – including Prime Minister Yair Lapid when he was foreign minister – have done so behind closed doors. One tweet does not a policy shift make.
There have been reports in The New York Times and other outlets that Jerusalem is more involved than was initially, sharing intelligence with Kyiv about Iranian drones, allowing tech firms to work in Ukraine against the UAVs and turning a blind eye to third countries’ intentions to transfer Israeli weapons that they purchase to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk was one of those who were encouraged by Shai’s tweet but said there has been no detectable shift at all in Israel’s position since Iranian arms were turned against his country. The reports on intelligence sharing are “conspiracy theories,” he said on Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “expected more when Iran proved to be helping Russia,” Korniychuk said, “but we are disappointed.”
“We are talking just about defensive weapons, not offensive. This is critical for us right now, not in three months or six months,” the ambassador said. “We appreciate Lapid’s condemnations, but we need more than words to defend our civilians.”