ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Israeli FM visits Kyiv as pressure mounts over military aid

Share
KYIV, Ukraine -

Israel's foreign minister arrived in Kyiv on Thursday, the first public visit to Ukraine's capital by a senior Israeli official since Russia's invasion last year.

Eli Cohen's visit came just before the first anniversary of Russian's invasion of Ukraine, and as Western nations seek to increase aid to the country.

Since the outbreak of the war, Israel has walked a tightrope between assisting Ukraine and avoiding friction with Russia, with which it has strategic regional interests. Unlike other western countries, Israel has not imposed sanctions on Russia or Russian officials, shared intelligence or provided Ukraine with weapons. It has provided humanitarian support to Ukraine, including a field hospital.

Cohen was set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as senior Ukrainian officials and leaders of the country's Jewish community as part of the brief trip.

It was unclear whether Cohen would announce greater assistance to Ukraine during his lightning visit or whether the visit signifies greater Israeli engagement going forward.

"We're here on an important visit of solidarity with the Ukrainian nation, which has certainly endured a very hard time in the past year," Cohen said during a visit to a mass grave memorial in Bucha, outside Kyiv. He said Israel has supported Ukraine and provided humanitarian aid, and would continue to do so.

Cohen was reminded of the hardships endured by Ukrainians when air raid sirens sounded as he entered the country's foreign ministry.

Cohen said earlier this year that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government "will definitely do one thing: publicly, we will talk less" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but would keep providing Ukraine with humanitarian aid. Shortly after taking office, he spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Israel maintains good working relations with both warring countries, and has large populations of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants. Israel also relies on security coordination with Russia over neighboring Syria, where Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against Iranian military positions in the past decade.

As other Western nations step up assistance to Ukraine, pressure has built on Israel to share some of its sophisticated military means with Ukraine, including from the U.S.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said following a meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem last month that he had emphasized "the importance of providing support for all of Ukraine's needs -- humanitarian, economic, and security."

Yossi Shain, a former member of the Knesset's foreign affairs and defense committee, said Israel's ultranationalist government -- which has butted heads with the Biden administration on the issue of West Bank settlements -- may try to gain Washington's favor by providing defensive capabilities to Ukraine, while "not crossing certain lines that will endanger its lesser involvement because of the threats of Russia" in neighboring Syria.

Last year, Israel's former prime minister, Naftali Bennett, attempted briefly to mediate between the sides, flying to Moscow shortly after Russia's invasion and meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Bennett said an interview earlier this month that Putin assured him at the time that Russia would not kill Zelenskyy.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.