Together with NATO allies, no intention to supply weapons to Ukraine: Israel
New Delhi: Defence Minister of Israel Benny Gantz at a meeting with EU envoys on Wednesday said Israel is with its NATO allies and supports Ukraine but still has no intention to supply Kyiv with weapons.
“Israel supports Ukraine, NATO, and the West and stands with them – this is something we have stated in the past and repeat today. Israel continues to support Ukraine through humanitarian aid deliveries and the supply of life-saving defense equipment. I plan to approve an additional aid package, as we have done before,” the press service of the Israeli Defense Ministry quoted him as saying.
At the same time, Gantz pointed out that Israel still intended to limit itself to providing only non-military assistance to Kyiv. “At that, I would like to stress that Israel will not supply weapons systems to Ukraine due to many operational reasons. We will continue to support Ukraine within our constraints, as we have done in the past,” he noted.
The top brass added that Israel was ready to help Ukraine in the development of an advanced air attack warning system as part of this policy. “We have sent the Ukrainians a request for an exchange of information regarding their needs in the area of air alert systems. As soon as we get this information, we will be able to help them develop a life-saving early warning system for civilians,” Gantz noted.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said on Tuesday that his country would send an official message to the Israeli government asking it to immediately provide Kyiv with air defense systems. So far, Israel has not provided Ukraine with any military aid and has limited itself to sending humanitarian supplies to the country and providing medical aid to Ukrainians wounded as a result of hostilities.
(Vinayak)
