The Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, confirmed that Israel has provided military assistance to Ukraine, including the transfer of Patriot missile defense systems. The diplomat made this statement in an interview with Marytsia Dovbenko.
This is reported by Київ24
Details of the Patriot Systems Transfer
According to Michael Brodsky, the Patriot systems, which have been in Israel’s arsenal since the early 1990s and were obtained from the United States, are currently in Ukraine. The ambassador noted that the Israeli side agreed to transfer these systems to Kyiv, although this issue has not been widely covered in the media. He emphasized that claims of a lack of military assistance from Israel are false.
“We received the Patriot system from the United States back then (in the early 90s). And, by the way, these systems are now in Ukraine. They are Israeli systems that were in Israel’s arsenal in the early 90s. We agreed to transfer them to Ukraine. Unfortunately, this has not been talked about much. But when they say that Israel did not help militarily, that is not true. It is false,” said the diplomat.
At the same time, the ambassador did not disclose how many Patriot systems were transferred to Ukraine or when this transfer took place. Regarding other possible elements of military assistance, Brodsky refrained from commenting, calling this issue a “sensitive topic.”
Israel’s Position on Military Support for Ukraine
It is worth noting that in January of this year, Michael Brodsky stated that Israel supports Ukraine but does not provide it with military support for various reasons. The main reason, according to the diplomat, is the desire to avoid complicating relations with Russia and creating additional security threats for Israel. Previously, the ambassador remarked:
“Regarding the issue of military support for Ukraine – yes, Israel does not provide military support to Ukraine. For various reasons, the main consideration is the desire not to disrupt our contacts with Russia, the desire not to expose our security to threats, because we understand that this could lead to very serious consequences for Israel’s security,” he said at that time.
In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized the need to acquire ten Patriot systems to protect Ukrainian cities. The head of state also noted that he cannot understand why it has been difficult to reach agreements on additional supplies of these systems for Ukraine.