Israel’s foreign minister condemns Russia’s strikes on civilians, pledges continued support for Kyiv, and calls for tough action on Iran.

By David Brummer, World Israel News

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday for a show of solidarity, condemning Russia’s “brutal” war, pledging humanitarian support, and calling for international pressure against Iran.

Sa’ar met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha in Kyiv, where the two discussed deepening cooperation and regional threats, particularly from Iran, according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release.

In a joint press conference, Sa’ar said it was important to stand with Ukraine during this difficult time.

“Ukraine has been at war with Russia for over three years. It is a brutal conflict that has claimed many lives,” Sa’ar said.

“We condemn Russia’s attacks on civilians. We call for a stable and sustainable peace that will ensure Ukraine’s security.”

He added, “We understand what it is like to be under attack—with our families, with our children. My heart goes out to the families who have lost loved ones.”

Sa’ar’s visit began with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Memorial Wall for the Fallen and a stop at the Holodomor Memorial.

During his meeting with Sybiha, he also presented the Dinah report, which documents the sexual violence committed by Hamas during the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.

The two ministers agreed to initiate a strategic dialogue on countering the Iranian threat.

Sa’ar praised Ukraine for its support in efforts to block Iran’s nuclear ambitions, thanking President Volodymyr Zelensky for imposing sanctions on Iranian individuals.

“I thank you…for your condemnations of Iran and your support for our actions, alongside the US, against Iran’s nuclear program,” he said.

Referring to Israel’s own recent military operation, Sa’ar said that during Operation Rising Lion, “Israel dealt a severe blow to Iran’s nuclear program,” destroying infrastructure and striking drone and missile supply lines.

He emphasized that some of the Iranian-made drones used by Russia in Ukraine were targeted in those operations.

“We cannot allow Iran to continue its nuclear ambitions,” he said. “I call on the E3 countries—Germany, France, and the United Kingdom—to trigger the snapback mechanism now.”

Sa’ar also highlighted Israel’s humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including medical treatment for injured civilians, trauma support, mobile water purification systems, and the first foreign field hospital set up during the war.

“We have sent generators, food, water, and winter equipment. Israel stands with Ukraine and its people,” he said.

The foreign minister also thanked the Ukrainian government for recognizing the pilgrimage site in Uman—where Rabbi Nachman of Breslov is buried—as a heritage site.

“Both Ukraine and Israel are going through difficult times, but our nations are strong, and our friendship is solid,” Sa’ar said.

“I look forward to building a better future for our children. I invite you and hope to host you soon in Jerusalem, our eternal capital.”

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Zelensky emphasized the ‘mistake’ was on a political level and that Ukraine ‘always had good connections with Israeli society.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fox News on Wednesday that he believes the Israeli government “made a mistake” by not showing more support for Ukraine during its war with Russia and blamed it on his belief that “Israel is afraid of Putin.”

Zelensky emphasized that Israel made “a mistake on the political level, not the people,” noting that Ukraine “always had good connections with Israeli society.”

He recalled asking Israel for its support when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

“It’s my opinion, and I’m frank about it, and I also spoke about it with European leaders and with the American administration, and I asked them to help me with Israel to give us support, especially with air defenses,” he said.

Zelensky admitted feeling “shock at the lack of Israeli support” in 2022.

Israel condemned Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and provided some support, including humanitarian aid and an aerial warning system, but stopped short of sending military aid.

The Financial Times reported early in 2024 that the US and Israel were in talks to provide Ukraine with eight Patriot missile air defense systems currently owned by Israel.

Russia has been a strong critic of Israel since October 7th, accused it of war crimes at the UN, and has hosted Hamas leaders.

The vast majority of Hezbollah’s weapons originated from Russia, according to a report Tuesday, with recent discoveries by Israeli soldiers operating in southern Lebanon forcing the IDF to raise its estimates regarding the flow of weapons to the Iranian-backed terror group.

On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal published a report citing multiple sources claiming that IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon since October 1st have uncovered large quantities of Russian-made weapons in Hezbollah’s possession.

While Israel has long been aware of the Iranian-backed terror group’s use of Russian-made weapons, the recent discoveries reportedly came as a surprise to military intelligence, which had estimated that Hezbollah’s arsenal was less dependent on Russia, and that the Russian-made equipment was largely older items, many dating to the Soviet era.

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Israel is sponsoring a regime that glorifies the grandchildren of Holocaust perpetrators, says Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.

By World Israel News Staff

A Russian Foreign Ministry official said that Israel is aiding the descendants of those who slaughtered Jews in the Holocaust by providing support to secure a nuclear power plant in Ukraine, in a statement on her Telegram channel on Tuesday.

“If only the ancestors of Israel’s current political elite knew that their direct descendants would sponsor a regime that glorified their executioners and Holocaust ideologists!” wrote Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Zakharova’s statements came hours after Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission Director-General, Moshe Edri said at a conference that the Jewish State had assisted Ukraine in safeguarding its nuclear power plant during the ongoing conflict with Russia.

Israel has consistently maintained a neutral policy regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has infuriated both Moscow and Kyiv.

Both countries have accused Israel of secretly supporting the other side, with Ukraine calling for Israel to impose sweeping sanctions on Russian citizens and assets.

Russia has accused Israel of hypocrisy for failing to support what they frame as their “de-Nazification” effort in the embattled Eastern European country.

Officials from both Moscow and Kyiv have consistently evoked the Holocaust throughout the course of the conflict, in an apparent attempt to force Israel to choose a side.

Israel is home to some one million citizens who were born in or are the descendants of first-generation immigrants from former Soviet Union countries, with a large number of them originating from Russia and Ukraine.

Notably, Ukrainian national hero Stefan Bandera – who is frequently honored by name in streets, parks, and monuments throughout the country – collaborated with the Nazis and was a supporter of the deportation and murder of Jews during World War II.

The Babyn Yar massacre, in which a staggering 33,000 Jews were murdered by Nazi forces, took place in Ukraine.

Some local non-Jewish Ukrainians reportedly turned in their Jewish neighbors to the Nazis, leading to what is believed to have been the largest single-day massacre during the Holocaust.

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Israeli premier and Ukrainian president meet at the sidelines of United Nations.

By JNS

In a meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the Jewish state would continue to assist Ukraine amid its ongoing conflict with Russia.

Netanyahu specified that aid would focus on humanitarian issues, including dealing with land mines.

Wearing his trademark military green shirt, Zelensky approached Netanyahu, and they shook hands and exchanged salutations. “I see you all the time,” Netanyahu said.

When introduced to the Israeli entourage, Zelensky said, “You have a very big team.”

Mossad director David Barnea received a hug from Zelensky, who said “I’m glad to see you.” The exchange “sparked worldwide attention and speculation that the two know each other,” Arutz Sheva reported.

Netanyahu’s office called the meeting “cordial.”

Zelensky opened the meeting by emphasizing that relations between the two countries are good, adding that he expects ‘a lot’ from the Jewish state.

“I expect a lot from Israel, but there are no problems in our relations.”

The meeting was the first between the two leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

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According to Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk, the meeting comes amid surging tensions over several issues between the two countries. 

By World Israel News Staff

A meeting is slated to take place between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk said.

This development follows a recent phone conversation between the two leaders, amid surging tensions that have cast a shadow on bilateral ties between the two nations. According to Korniychuk, who relayed the information to the Ynet news site, the disagreement ranges over several issues including Jerusalem’s sustained refusal to provide weaponry to Kyiv as well as its close ties with Russia, illustrated most recently with a cinema deal signed last week.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Israel on Thursday slammed an agreement between the Jewish state and Russia signed a day earlier to boost collaboration between the countries’ respective film industries, saying it Jerusalem was aiding Moscow in its propaganda attempts.

The diplomatic relations have further soured due to differing stances on the treatment of Ukrainian refugees and Jewish pilgrims set to visit a Jewish holy site in Uman, Ukraine over the upcoming Rosh Hashanah weekend.

Ukraine has threatened Israel it would shut its borders to Israeli pilgrims in response to Israel’s deportation of Ukrainian tourists.

“It is unthinkable that we would have to go out of our way to host tens of thousands of Israelis in Uman, with a high security risk and a huge logistical effort, while the Israeli government abuses our citizens who come to Israel within the framework of a treaty between the two countries,” Korniychuk said last month.

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Ultra-Orthodox MK criticized the prime minister for his “words of ignorance” while warning Jews not to visit Ukraine for Rosh Hashana.

By World Israel News Staff

In the lead-up to the annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to Uman, Ukraine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged potential pilgrims to rethink the trip by reminding them that Jews were not always protected there.

“Israeli citizens traveling to Ukraine must be personally responsible. There are no safeguards there,” he said, before adding, “From a historical perspective, God hasn’t consistently protected us, especially in Europe and Ukraine.”

His remarks ignited a flurry of reactions from religious factions in Israel. The Shas party responded fervently, affirming that God has eternally safeguarded the Jewish populace, a protection they believe is contingent upon adherence to the faith and the commandments of the Torah.

United Torah Judaism MK Yisrael Eichler sternly opposed Netanyahu’s perspective, branding it as “words of ignorance.” Eichler underscored the divine protection accorded to Jews globally, emphasizing that that divine intervention, not Zionist efforts, prevented further tragedy during the Holocaust and shielded Israel in its formative years. He acknowledged the continued divine protection attributing the survival of the Jewish people to “the miracles of Hashem, the God of Israel.”

The pilgrimage to Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s grave remains a focal point in the Jewish spiritual year for followers of the Breslov Hassidic sect.

Last month, Ukraine threatened Israel it would shut its borders to Israeli pilgrims heading to Uman for Rosh Hashanah in response to Israel’s deportation of Ukrainian tourists.

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This isn’t the first time that Putin has accused Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky of supporting Nazism.

By World Israel News Staff

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Western powers who had installed Ukraine’s Jewish president, Volodomyr Zelensky, had done so in order to distract from the reality that the country is controlled by Nazis.

“Western curators have put a person at the head of modern Ukraine – an ethnic Jew, with Jewish roots, with Jewish origins,” Putin told a Russian TV station on Tuesday.

“And thus, in my opinion, they seem to be covering up an anti-human essence that is the foundation…of the modern Ukrainian state,” he added.

“This makes the whole situation extremely disgusting, in that an ethnic Jew is covering up the glorification of Nazism and covering up those who led the Holocaust in Ukraine at one time – and this is the extermination of one and a half million people.”

In a previous interview in June, Putin said that Zelensky is “not even a Jew.”

When journalists pushed back on that assertion, Putin clarified that “I have many Jewish friends since childhood. They say Zelensky is not a Jew – he is a disgrace to the Jewish people.”

While Zelensky and Jewish groups have responded with outrage to Putin’s claim, Ukraine does have a checkered history regarding support for Nazism and widespread antisemitism.

At least one Ukrainian paramilitary group fighting against the Russian invasion, called the Azov Battalion, has publicly embraced neo-Nazi ideology and uses Nazi symbology, including the SS lightning bolts, on their uniforms.

Stefan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist who fought for independence from Russia and the Soviet Union, is considered a national hero in the country.

Residents of a Ukrainian city recently voted to name a street in honor of Bandera, who partnered with the Nazis and was involved in the mass slaughter of Jews and Poles in Ukraine during World War II.

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“The government of Ukraine will not tolerate humiliation of its citizens while entering Israel.”

By World Israel News Staff

Ukraine threatened Israel it would shut its borders to Israeli pilgrims heading to Uman for Rosh Hashanah next month in response to Israel’s deportation of Ukrainian tourists.

In a Saturday briefing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced concerns about the treatment of Ukrainians seeking visas to enter Israel. “I listened to the report of the Border Guard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Intelligence regarding the treatment of our citizens… The rights of Ukrainian citizens must be guaranteed,” Zelensky said.

Elaborating on the matter, Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, confirmed the remarks were aimed at Israel, indicating potential repercussions.

“The government of Ukraine will not tolerate humiliation of its citizens while entering Israel,” Korniychuk declared. “It is unthinkable… when, on the other hand, the Israeli government abuses our citizens who come to Israel within the framework of the treaty between the two countries.”

He further suggested that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should directly address the issue if he wants to ensure Israelis continue to have access to Ukraine, notably the city of Uman.

“It is unthinkable that we would have to go out of our way to host tens of thousands of Israelis in Uman, with a high security risk and a huge logistical effort, while the Israeli government abuses our citizens who come to Israel within the framework of a treaty between the two countries,” Korniychuk said.

Shas MK Moshe Arbel, who currently oversees both the interior and health sectors, refuted the claims. “I completely reject the claims about the humiliation of Ukrainian citizens upon entering Israel,” Arbel said. “The Israeli immigration policy welcomes tourists from many countries… the Population and Immigration Authority exercises its legal authority.”

He went on to emphasize the continued partnership between the two nations, citing recent health collaborations.

The Prime Minister’s Office announced last Friday an extension of health insurance and aid to Ukrainian refugees in Israel until year-end. This decision followed earlier concerns regarding the potential cessation of health services for Ukrainian refugees who arrived post the Russia conflict onset around 18 months ago.

Rabbi Moshe Asman, the chief rabbi of Ukraine, commended this decision, “I congratulate my friend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu… for the welcome decision to extend the social and health assistance to the war refugees from Ukraine,” but urged the Israeli government to solidify plans earlier.

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Approximately 40,000 metric tons (44,000 tons) of grain headed for Africa, China and Israel were damaged in the attack.

By Associated Press

Russian drones on Wednesday hit a Ukrainian port city along the border with Romania, causing significant damage and a huge fire at facilities that are key to Ukrainian grain exports.

Ukrainian infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said that about 40,000 metric tons (44,000 tons) of grain, which was expected by Africa, China and Israel, were damaged in the attack.

The attacks followed the end of a deal with Russia that had allowed Ukrainian shipments to world markets from the Black Sea port of Odesa.

Since scrapping the deal, Russia has hammered the country’s ports with strikes, compounding the blow to the key industry.

In the past two weeks, dozens of drones and missile attacks have targeted the port of Odesa and the region’s river ports, which are being used as alternative routes.

The head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, said the city of Izmail was hit in the strikes. Izmail is on the Danube River that forms part of the Ukraine-Romania border.

Video obtained by The Associated Press showed explosions and a large fire in the distance on the Danube, captured by fishermen in Romania, a NATO member, on the other side of the river.

Three Ukrainian ports along the Danube are currently operating.

“The goal of the enemy was clearly the facilities of the ports and industrial infrastructure of the region,” Ukraine’s South operational command wrote in an update on Facebook. As a result of the attack, a fire broke out at industrial and port facilities, and a grain elevator was damaged.

Ukraine’s air force intercepted 23 Shahed drones over the country overnight, mostly in Odesa and Kyiv, according to a morning update.

All 10 drones fired at Kyiv were intercepted, said Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv City Administration. Numerous loud explosions were heard overnight as air defense systems were activated. Debris from felled drones hit three districts of the capital, damaging a nonresidential building, Popko said.

‘The world must respond’

“Russian terrorists have once again targeted ports, grain facilities and global food security,” President Volodymyr Zelensky posted Wednesday morning on Telegram. “The world must respond.”

He confirmed that some drones hit their targets, with the most “significant damage” in the south of Ukraine.

Wheat prices rose about 3% and corn prices were up nearly 2% on Wednesday following the new attacks, showing the continued volatility in world markets as Russia targets Ukraine’s ports and agricultural infrastructure.

Ukraine is a major supplier of wheat, corn, vegetable oil and other agricultural products important to the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia where people are struggling with high food prices and hunger.

Ukraine also can export by road and rail through Europe, but those routes are more costly than going by the Black Sea and have stirred divisions among nearby countries.

Russia and Ukraine agreed a year ago on a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that reopened three Ukrainian Black Sea ports blocked by fighting and provided assurances that ships entering the ports would not be attacked. Russia declined to renew the agreement last month, complaining that its own exports were being held up.

In a telephone conversation Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Russia’s Vladimir Putin that he would seek to restore the Black Sea initiative to export Ukrainian grain, according to his office.

Referring to the deal as a “bridge of peace,” Erdogan told Putin that Turkey would “continue to carry out intensive efforts and diplomacy for the continuation of the Black Sea initiative.”

The statement said the two leaders had agreed on Putin visiting Turkey but did not provide a date. Erdogan has previously said Putin would come during August.

A Kremlin statement about the call said “readiness was confirmed to return to the Istanbul agreements as soon as the West actually fulfills all the obligations to Russia recorded in them.” It said preparations were continuing for “a possible meeting” of Putin and Erdogan.

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Ukrainian leader disregards millions of dollars in humanitarian aid provided by Israel, slams premier for not traveling to war-torn Kyiv.

By Adina Katz, World Israel News

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said that he had invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Kyiv and complained that the premier had not traveled to the embattled eastern European country in a statement to Hebrew-language media on Wednesday.

“Mr. Netanyahu has been invited to Kyiv… I invited the other two prime ministers who used to be before Mr. Netanyahu to Ukraine,” Zelensky said, referring to Naftali Bennett, who served in the role for less than a year, and interim prime minister Yair Lapid who was in office for about six months.

“So far, the prime ministers are different, but the result is the same,” Zelensky told Kan News via an interpreter.

Zelensky didn’t stop at slamming Israel’s heads of state for failing to travel to Ukraine; he repeated his criticism regarding Jerusalem choosing not to provide weapons to the country.

“We asked in the beginning of the war, the result is just the same as with the prime ministers,” he said. Months have passed with no outcome, unfortunately.”

The Ukrainian president failed to mention that Israel spent millions of dollars providing humanitarian aid to the country, including opening a state-of-the-art field hospital in the country to provide emergency medical care to soldiers and civilians.

Zelensky also did not reference the Jewish state regularly flying wounded Ukrainian soldiers to Israel in order to provide them free medical care, physical therapy, and prostheses.

Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky recently noted that Ukraine votes in favor of anti-Israel resolutions in the United Nations “90 percent” of the time, emphasizing that Kyiv has long demonstrated a lack of diplomatic support for Jerusalem.

In a speech last year to the Knesset, Zelesnky compared the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the Holocaust – an assertion which miffed many Israeli lawmakers and for which he later offered a lukewarm apology.

Israel recently summoned the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel for a dressing down, after he made scathing remarks regarding Israel’s neutral stance on the conflict.

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A full 90% of the time, Kyiv supports anti-Israel resolutions in the world body, Amb. Michael Brodsky told a local news site.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Israel’s ambassador to Ukraine criticized the country constantly asking for Israel’s help in its fight against an ongoing Russian invasion for not providing Jerusalem with any kind of quid pro quo in the United Nations.

In an interview with the local ZN.UA news site, Ambassador Michael Brodsky said that Kyiv “supports 90% of the anti-Israel resolutions in the UN.” This, he said, “is unusual, considering Kyiv often turns to the Israeli authorities for various requests. If Ukraine sees Israel as a friendly nation and makes requests from it, then it needs to support us in the matters that are important to us just as Israel works with Ukraine on matters important to it.”

In just one example, Ukraine voted for a Palestinian-backed draft resolution in November that denied Jewish ties to the Temple Mount and called for an International Criminal Court advisory opinion on Israel’s settlement activities in Judea and Samaria. After the Foreign Ministry called in Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk to protest, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s personal aide said it had been a “grave mistake” and that Kyiv “must at least abstain from such votes.”

Ukraine abstained in the subsequent voted by the full UN General Assembly’s subsequent vote on the issue, which passed easily.

Israel has airlifted hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, sent a field hospital for several weeks in the early stages of the war, trains Ukrainian trauma specialists, and treats dozens of wounded Ukrainian soldiers, and has backed Ukraine in many votes in the world body.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also said in May that Israel is helping Ukraine clear mines from territory its forces have liberated from Russian control.

When Israel doesn’t back Ukraine, Brodsky noted, this is only because Israel has its own security interests to cover, he told the site.

Russia is a key player in Syria, and it is vital that the IDF continue to have its mutual deconfliction mechanism in place so that it can continue to attack military sites belonging to Iran or its proxies in the country without endangering Moscow’s forces or its own during its airstrikes.

Brodsky noted that Israel also sent an early-warning system to Kyiv, and that “specialists from Israel and Ukraine meet, work, and actively do everything to make this system work here as quickly as possible.”

The system can identify where rockets or missiles will fall and calculate how much time residents have to flee to safety.

Korniychuk announced in May that the system had begun operations and “hopefully” his countrymen will be able to “copy-paste it to all major cities,” he said.

Brodsky has criticized anti-Israel remarks made by his host country before, and Israel has summoned Ambassador Korniychuk for a dressing-down more than once for statements made by his government that have accused Israel of “immorality” and worse in supposedly supporting Russia, such as by failing to impose Western-style sanctions on Moscow due to its aggression, or refusing to supply Kyiv with the military equipment it wants.

The last time it did so was less than two weeks ago, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that one reason why Israel will not provide weapons to Ukraine is the fear that those assets could fall into Iranian hands.

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The PM cited concerns the technology could fall into Iranian hands.

By JNS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out providing the Iron Dome aerial-defense system to Ukraine.

“I think it’s important to understand that we’re concerned also with the possibility that systems that we would give to Ukraine would fall into Iranian hands and could be reverse-engineered and we would find ourselves facing Israeli systems used against Israel,” the premier said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday.

Kyiv has requested Iron Dome batteries to defend itself against Russian aerial threats, including Iranian-made drones.

Israel is also preventing the United States from transferring to Ukraine two Iron Dome batteries in its possession.

“We can save more Ukrainian lives today if we transfer those batteries. However, due to serious concerns, the government of Israel has blocked the United States from transferring these batteries,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen said in a letter sent to the Senate Armed Services Committee last Friday.

Israel developed Iron Dome and initially funded it. While subsequent rounds of funding were provided by the United States, Israel has veto power over any foreign transfers or sales.

Netanyahu also pushed back against accusations that Israel is not doing enough to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. He noted that Israel has provided Kyiv with a rocket and drone alert system.

“We are also helping Ukraine. We’re helping them in civilian defense, a civilian alert system that will obviate the need to get half the country in shelters for every missile fired. So we’re helping them with that.”

The prime minister also addressed accusations by the Ukrainian embassy in Israel that Jerusalem is actually taking a “pro-Russian stance” in the conflict by maintaining a neutral position.

“We’re not neutral. We’ve expressed our sympathy and position with Ukraine, but I am saying there is a limit, limitations that we have and concerns and interests that we have,” Netanyahu said.

“My first interest, regardless of sympathy and the steps that we take, is to ensure the security of the one and only Jewish state. We have the concerns that I told you. Also, our pilots are flying right next to Russian pilots in the skies over Syria in order to block the attempts of Iran to establish a second Hezbollah front in Syria.”

The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem summoned Ukraine’s ambassador after he accused Israel of taking a pro-Russia stance.

The dressing down is scheduled for July 3. Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk will meet with Aliza Ben-Nun, the head of the ministry’s Strategic Affairs Directorate.

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Israel has “a blatant disregard for moral boundaries,” charge Ukrainian diplomats.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, for a dressing-down after Kyiv accused Jerusalem of harboring a “pro-Russia” stance and charging that by remaining neutral in the conflict, Israel is acting “immorally.”

Since the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Jerusalem has maintained a neutral stance on the war, and Israel has remained one of the few Western countries to maintain warm relations with both Moscow and Kyiv.

Despite Israel spending millions of dollars constructing and staffing a field hospital in Ukraine, supplying millions of dollars in aid and sending extensive humanitarian aid to the embattled country, as well as treating wounded Ukrainian soldiers in Israel free of charge, Kyiv has ramped up its demands that Israel clearly take its side in the conflict.

But on Sunday, the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel finally triggered a formal reprimand from Jerusalem after posting a screed on Facebook slamming the Jewish state for failing to impose Western-style sanctions on Russia and not providing the country with military equipment.

“The so-called ‘neutrality’ of Israel’s government is considered as a clear pro-Russian position,” the Ukrainian Embassy posted on its page. The post specifically referenced recent comments from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that one reason why Israel will not provide weapons to Ukraine is the fear that those assets could fall into Iranian hands.

The embassy slammed Netanyahu’s comments as “entirely fictional and speculative assumptions” and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s recent visit to Kyiv as “fruitless,” despite the fact he pledged some $200 million in foreign aid to the country.

Ukrainian diplomats also accused Israel of having “a blatant disregard for moral boundaries” because Israeli officials attended a recent event in Jerusalem that was organized by the Russian Embassy.

In 2022, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky equated the war with the Holocaust in a speech to the Knesset, which angered Israeli lawmakers across the political spectrum.

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No one can lecture Israel on what is distortion of Holocaust memory, says Israeli Foreign Ministry.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The Israeli Foreign Ministry lashed back Friday at Russian claims that Jerusalem’s envoy to Ukraine had “glorified Nazism.”

“There is no change in Israel’s policy, which is absolutely opposed to and rejects the glorification of criminals who collaborated with the Nazis in murdering Jews,” the ministry’s spokesperson, Lior Haiat tweeted.

However, he added, “No party should lecture the State of Israel, Israel’s Foreign Ministry, or its diplomats about the importance of preserving the memory of the Holocaust or about the war on historical distortion.”

In a Thursday interview with Israeli Russian-language station Iton TV, Ambassador Michael Brodsky had said it would be wrong to condition aid to Ukraine on its renouncing its adulation for those who fought for Ukrainian independence by joining the Nazis during World War II. He also made it clear that due to their antisemitism, Israel has always opposed the fact that statues are erected and streets are named after them throughout the country.

The troops who followed such men as Roman Shukhevych and Stepan Bandera were notorious for having murdered hundreds of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust while fighting against the Soviet Union that had swallowed their country years earlier.

Ignoring Israel’s enunciated position regarding those historic figures, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova sharply criticized him Friday for saying that these men were “heroes” to most Ukrainians.

“No one has the right to have such heroes … These were not heroes, but demons, and this was not an identity, but a disgrace for the people of Ukraine,” she tweeted. “This is an act of glorifying Nazism.”

Zakharova also took on the role of “reminding” the ambassador on Telegram of the part Bandera’s nationalists had played in perpetrating the extermination of the Jews in Ukraine, “since there is no one else to defend the victims of the Holocaust but us.”

This is not the first time Brodsky has delinked these Ukrainian nationalists’ complicity in the Holocaust with realpolitik defense of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

In January 2022, almost two months before Russia’s invasion of its southern neighbor on the pretext that it was a “neo-Nazi” regime, he said that Israel’s years-long “principled position” that people like Bandera “should not become heroes” as their crimes against the Jewish people have been proven by the historical research of Yad Vashem and others, it should not be a reason to stop supporting Ukraine, with Russian troops amassing on its borders.

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“We are very happy that you came here to see for yourself the special treatment here for children,” Israel’s First Lady Michael Herzog told her Ukrainian counterpart.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska visited the rehabilitation department of Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center in Ramat Gan and patients at the Safra Children’s Hospital on Monday.

Together with Israel’s First Lady Michal Herzog, they were shown an exhibition of photographs from Israel’s “Kochav Meir” field hospital established in Ukraine. During a six-week period in 2022, the hospital treated 6,000 Ukrainians using advanced telemedicine technologies. The field hospital was spearheaded by Sheba.

Afterwards, the ladies visited the Integrated Rehabilitation Hospital. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have lost limbs in fighting and Russian missile strikes, and Kyiv is interested in learning how Israel treats its amputees.

Accompanied by Prof. Ameti Ziv, director of the rehabilitation hospital, Herzog and Zelenska watched Uri Zahavi, who is paralyzed in the cervical spine, being treated in a unique simulator at the center that simulates walking and running situations for the rehabilitated. Afterwards, in the “virtual reality” department, the First Ladies met with Nurit Cohen Abrahams, who has been treated for many months due to blockage of blood vessels in both of her legs.

At Safra Children’s Hospital, they had an emotional meeting with 11-year-old Yonatan, who is on the autistic spectrum and has been treated for about a month in the mental health department. Yonatan told his esteemed visitors that his mother helped civilians who were injured in the war in Ukraine.

Zelenska said, “I hope that we will create new programs with the cooperation of our experts from Ukraine and your experts from Israel, in order to strengthen our health system, especially regarding mental health, in programs for mental health and in support of the rehabilitation of the injured citizens, including children , adults and the elderly. Our medical system cannot cope alone.”

“We are very happy that you came here to see for yourself the special treatment here for children. Israel is very proud, we are very proud and want to share our knowledge and infrastructure and our wonderful medical facilities with those who need them. We will continue to cooperate and help For your experts to get even better,” Herzog said.

Also participating in the visit were EU representative Katerina Maternova and Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel Yevgen Kornichuk.

The post Ukrainian First Lady learns how Israel deals with war trauma and injuries appeared first on World Israel News.

A Jewish physician living in a residential building struck by a Russian missile was reportedly unharmed, in what was described as “miraculous.”

By AP and World Israel News Staff

Russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles and two drones at Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 23 people, almost all of them when two missiles slammed into an apartment building in a terrifying nighttime attack, officials said. Three children were among the dead.

The missile attacks included the first one against Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in nearly two months, although there were no reports of any targets hit. The city government said Ukraine’s air force intercepted 11 cruise missiles and two unmanned aerial vehicles over Kyiv.

The strikes on the nine-story residential building in central Ukraine occurred in Uman, a city located around 215 kilometers (134 miles) south of Kyiv.

In recent years, the Breslov hasidic community in Uman has become a vibrant center of spirituality and devotion for Jews from all around the world. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov is buried in the city, attracting tens of thousands of Jewish visitors each year.

Israel’s Ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, condemned the vicious attack on a city that has unique “religious and cultural meaning for Jews around the world.”

A physician who is a member of the local Jewish emergency response organization, who lives in the residential building that was hit, was reportedly unharmed, in what was described as “miraculous.”

Twenty-one people died in that attack, according to Ukraine’s National Police. They included two 10-year-old children and a toddler.

Another of the victims was a 75-year-old woman who lived in a neighboring building and suffered internal bleeding from the huge blast’s shock wave, according to emergency personnel at the scene.

The Ukrainian national police said 17 people were wounded and three children were rescued from the rubble. Nine were hospitalized.

The bombardment was nowhere near the war’s sprawling front lines or active combat zones in eastern Ukraine, where a grinding war of attrition has taken hold. Moscow has frequently launched long-range missile attacks during the 14-month war, often indiscriminately hitting civilian areas.

#RussiaIsATerroristState pic.twitter.com/goXNmKYsAw

— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) April 28, 2023

Ukrainian officials and analysts have alleged such strikes are part of a deliberate intimidation strategy by the Kremlin.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the long-range cruise missiles launched overnight were aimed at places where Ukrainian military reserve units were staying before their deployment to the battlefield.

“The strike has achieved its goal. All the designated facilities have been hit,” Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Defense Ministry’s spokesperson, said. He didn’t mention any specific areas or residential buildings getting hit.

Survivors of the Uman strikes recounted terrifying moments as the missiles hit when it still was dark outside.

Three body bags lay next to the building as smoke continued to billow hours after the attack. Soldiers, civilians and emergency crews searched through the rubble outside for more victims, while residents dragged belongings out of the damaged building.

Yulia Norovkova, spokeswoman for emergency rescue crews on the scene, said local volunteers were helping nearly 150 emergency personnel. Two aid stations, including psychologists, were operating, she said.

A 31-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter were also killed in the eastern city of Dnipro in another attack, regional Governor Serhii Lysak said. Four people were wounded, and a private home and business were damaged.

Zelensky, Chinese leader have ‘long, meaningful’ talk

The attacks came days after President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held a “long and meaningful” phone call where Xi said his government will send a peace envoy to Ukraine and other nations.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Friday’s bombardment showed the Kremlin isn’t interested in a peace deal.

“Missile strikes killing innocent Ukrainians in their sleep, including a two-year-old child, is Russia’s response to all peace initiatives,” he tweeted. “The way to peace is to kick Russia out of Ukraine.”

Czech President Petr Pavel, on a visit to Ukraine, was unconvinced by the Kremlin’s past denials of responsibility for such bloodshed.

“The number of attacks on civilian targets leads to an only conclusion that it is intentional,” Pavel told Czech media. “It’s a clear plan intended to cause chaos, horrors among the civilian population.”

Shortly after Moscow unleashed the barrage, the Russian Defense Ministry posted a photo on Telegram showing a missile launch and saying, “Right on target.”

The message triggered outrage among Ukrainians on social media and some officials, who viewed it as gloating over the casualties.

“The Ministry of Homicide of the Russian Federation is happy that it hit a residential building with a rocket and killed civilians,” said Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office.

In Kyiv, fragments from intercepted missiles or drones damaged power lines and a road in one neighborhood. No casualties were reported.

In Ukrainka, a town about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Kyiv, debris from shot down missiles or drones left holes in the walls of some apartment buildings, and a smashed pink stroller in the street.

“It feels like this nightmare has been going on for two years, but I still can’t wake up,” local resident Olena, 62, said. She asked for her surname not to be used, saying her son lived in a sensitive military area.

Ukraine officials said last week that they had taken delivery of American-made Patriot missiles, providing Kyiv with a long-sought new shield against Russian airstrikes, but there was no word on whether the system was used Friday.

The city’s anti-aircraft system was activated, according to the Kyiv City Administration. Air raid sirens started at about 4 a.m., and the alert ended about two hours later.

In a statement on Friday, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak appealed to Israel for more support and weapons, The Jerusalem Post reported.

“The latest chapter in Russia’s war crimes epidemic has seen missiles rain down indiscriminately on civilians as they slept in the holy city of Uman,” he said.

“So far, 18 people have been killed. Among them are three children, and the numbers are climbing. All Israelis – those who visit Uman” – where thousands of Israelis visit the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov each Rosh Hashana – “and those who never have but know what missiles raining down on civilians feels like, should take note.

“There is a new genocide in Europe and it is being executed by the Kremlin. Israel should use this moment to step up anti-missile and anti-drone support to Ukraine and help protect civilians from Russia’s war of aggression,” Yermak said.

Uman. 23 dead, including 5 children.

We need more support, more weapons to stop the Russian missile rain. Russia kills civilians everywhere, even in the holy city of Uman.

We need more support from Israel. Said it to @Jerusalem_Post.https://t.co/3DtDobKPZq

— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) April 29, 2023

The missile attack was the first on the capital since March 9. Air defenses have thwarted Russian drone attacks more recently.

The missiles were fired from aircraft operating in the Caspian Sea region, according to Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander in Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Overall, he said, Ukraine intercepted 21 of 23 Kh-101 and Kh-555 type cruise missiles launched, as well as the two drones.

The war largely ground to a halt over the winter, becoming a war of attrition as each side has shelled the other’s positions from a distance. Ukraine has been building up its mechanized brigades with armor supplied by its Western allies, who have also been training Ukrainian troops and sending ammunition, as Kyiv eyes a possible counteroffensive.

Meanwhile, the Moscow-appointed mayor of the Russia-held city of Donetsk, Alexei Kulemzin, said a Ukrainian rocket killed seven civilians in the center of the city Friday. He said the victims died when a minibus was hit.

World Israel News contributed to this report.

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