Defense Minister Benny Gantz spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, on Monday, following weeks of delay.
At the start of the call, Reznikov briefed Gantz on developments in the war in Ukraine. Gantz expressed his condolences over the tragic loss of life and shared concern regarding the humanitarian crisis.
According to a statement released by his office, Gantz “further highlighted Israel’s position in standing with the Ukrainian people and its Western allies, expressing his commitment to supporting Ukraine via the delivery of humanitarian aid and life-saving defense equipment.”
Israel has sent thousands of helmets and protective vests, hundreds of mine protection suits, thousands of gas masks and dozens of hazmat filtration systems to Ukraine.
During the call, Gantz and Reznikov “agreed to conduct professional dialogue in order to assist Ukraine in the development of a civilian early-warning system,” the statement said.
Last week, Gantz said Israel has offered to help Ukraine in developing an early-warning system and that Jerusalem has sent a request to Kyiv to share information about the country’s needs for air-defense alerts, and once received, “we will be able to assist in the development of a life-saving civilian early-warning system.”
During the call with Reznikov, Gantz again stressed that Israel would not provide weapon systems due to “operational limitations faced by the State of Israel,” referring to Israeli operations in Syria, which require cooperation with Russia.
Shortly after the call, Syria accused Israel of carrying out airstrikes near Damascus. Israel and Russia have a deconfliction mechanism to prevent any unwanted conflict during such strikes. Israel has refused to provide any military platforms to Ukraine due to concerns it might negatively affect that mechanism.
Gantz and Reznikov agreed to continue communicating
Gantz and Reznikov “concluded the call by agreeing to continue communicating in the coming weeks regarding additional topics on the agenda,” the Defense Ministry said.
Their call came after several delays, most recently last Wednesday, after a request by Kyiv. A day earlier, Gantz reportedly had declined Kyiv’s request to hold a phone conversation with Reznikov shortly after Ukraine said it would officially ask for Israel’s air-defense systems.
The call also came shortly after US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Reznikov and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
According to a readout by the US Defense Department, during the call with Reznikov, Austin stressed the international community’s continued support for Ukraine and its “ability to defend itself in the future, as demonstrated by the security assistance commitments made by allies and partners.”
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.