Israel has started working with Ukraine on intelligence, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.
Zelensky told a press conference in Kyiv that the cooperation between the countries was on a positive trajectory.
“I’ll tell you honestly, I’m satisfied with the past few days,” he said, according to a statement from his office. “We started working. I won’t give details because our intelligence was working, but I want to say, after a long pause, I see these steps [as moving] forward.
“We need Israel’s help and political leadership, and as I said, it has started in recent days,” Zelensky said.
Still, Zelensky said he expects even more cooperation “because Israel is a state that knows in detail what war and tragedy are, and Israeli society fully supports Ukrainians,” his office stated.
Zelensky said he hopes that relations between the governments in Jerusalem and Kyiv can be as warm as that between their societies.
Iran sending weapons to Russia
The Ukrainian president’s statements came following revelations of increased Iranian involvement in supplying Russia with weapons, and training its army in their use.
Earlier this week, Zelensky said that Israel’s reticence to send defensive weapons to Ukraine led to Iran taking Russia’s side, warning that Russia would help Iran develop nuclear weapons.
"I won’t give details, because our intelligence was working, but I want to say: After a long pause, I see these steps forward."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Israeli aid to Ukraine
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba sent a formal request to Jerusalem for missile defense systems last week, which he reiterated in a phone call with Prime Minister Yair Lapid last Thursday. Defense Minister Benny Gantz approved sending Ukraine early-warning systems for missile strikes, but not defensive weapons.
Israel has sent humanitarian, not military, aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February. This is in part due to Jerusalem’s deconfliction mechanism with Moscow, allowing the IDF to strike Iranian targets in Syria, where Russia has a significant presence.
However, Russia has pulled much of its military out of Syria in recent months amid continued losses in Ukraine.