Kyiv wants Israel’s help in defense against Iranian “drones”

Ukraine wants Israel’s help to defend itself against Iranian drones that Russia is using in its war against the country, Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff said on Wednesday.

“I believe that today it is Israel that can help Ukraine in the issue of protection against Iranian drones,” Andriy Yermak said during a video conference with Jewish organizations.

“We hope to create a joint initiative in this regard,” Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff added, quoted in a statement released by the Ukrainian president.

Kiev has accused Moscow of using Iranian-supplied drones to strike civilians and civilian infrastructure in a war that began with an invasion of a neighboring country on February 24, 2022.

Initially, Iran denied supplying the “drones” to Russia, but later admitted that it supplied the weapons to Moscow months before the war.

During the videoconference, which was attended by Israeli journalists, Yermak called for increased Israeli military assistance to Ukraine.

He was also grateful for the support given to Zelensky, a Jew, when Russian leader Vladimir Putin called him “a disgrace to the Jewish people.”

“Kremlin [presidência russa] not only tolerates, but also encourages the growth of xenophobia and anti-Semitism not only in Russia, but throughout the world,” Yermak said.

“Therefore, the decisive public reaction of Jewish public figures and the transparent position of the political leadership of the country are extremely important,” he added.

In a speech in St. Petersburg on Friday, Putin said he has Jewish friends who “say that Zelensky is not a Jew, but a disgrace to the Jewish people.”

Ukraine relied on Western support to supply weapons to fight Russian forces.

Kyiv’s Western allies have also imposed sanctions on Russian interests ranging from oil to diamonds to try to undermine Moscow’s ability to finance military action against Ukraine.