Netanyahu to meet Zelenskyy on sidelines of UNGA for first time since beginning of war in Ukraine
Tensions between Jerusalem and Kyiv regarding military aid and Israel's deportation of Ukrainian refugees
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, according to Israeli news reports.
Their meeting comes amid tensions regarding the travel of thousands of Orthodox Jewish pilgrims to Uman every year and the deportation of Ukrainian refugees in Israel.
“President Zelensky said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been invited to Ukraine but, unlike other world leaders, did not take up the offer,” according to the Times of Israel.
Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky, said that Kyiv’s support for anti-Israel resolutions has negatively impacted Ukrainian/Israeli relations “in 90% of cases."
Ukraine has repeatedly asked for military aid – including missile defense systems – from the Jewish state, which has been denied. While Israel has emphasized its need to maintain strategic operations in Syria’s airspace, which is mostly controlled by Russia, it has been sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
According to Israeli officials, there has also been fear that advanced military technology could fall into enemy hands who are aiding the Russian invasion with attack drones.
Israel has supported a nonbinding resolution at the United Nations, calling for Russia to end hostilities in Ukraine and withdraw its forces.
The Jewish state is using its years of experience with rocket attacks to help Ukraine develop a missile alert system.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
