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Ukraine ‘blindsides’ Israel with aggressive demands, Israel fires back

Despite Ukraine’s record of voting against Israel at the UN, its embassy in Israel launches scathing social media campaign accusing Jerusalem of not helping Ukrainian soldiers due to their nationality.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

The Ukrainian Embassy in Israel launched a scathing social media campaign on Sunday, slamming the Jewish State for not treating wounded Ukrainian soldiers in Israeli hospitals and suggesting that the country was not fulfilling its humanitarian obligations.

A black and white image of a Ukrainian soldier with two amputated legs was posted to the Embassy’s official Twitter account, with text in Hebrew reading: “The Israeli government is refusing to treat him, just because he’s Ukrainian.”

Accompanying the image, which was emblazoned with the official logo of the Embassy, the diplomatic institution wrote a Hebrew-language message with blistering criticism of Israel.

“Many Ukrainians lost body parts in Russian attacks,” the text reads.

“Israel is an international leader in the field of prostheses. We expect the Israeli government to do the right moral thing and help Delil [the wounded soldier in the image] and many other Ukrainians recover. There is no justification for the continued delay in aid in this humanitarian area.”

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There was no mention of the multimillion dollar field hospital that Israel constructed in Ukraine to treat thousands of Ukrainian civilians.

The aggressive tone of the message did not go unnoticed by both Israeli officials and social media users.

“This style [of rhetoric] is not acceptable,” a senior Foreign Ministry official told Ynet.

“There is a way to make requests and it is not customary for a foreign ambassador to blindside the country where he is no longer a guest,” they added.

The campaign comes on the heels of numerous statements from Ukrainian officials bemoaning what they say is insufficient support from Israel after the Russian invasion.

Israel has repeatedly refrained from publicly taking sides in the conflict, attempting to maintain warm ties with both Moscow and Kyiv.

Moscow has de facto control over Syria’s skies, one reason as to why Israel has not imposed harsh sanctions on Russia like much of Europe and the Western world. However, Israel’s policy of neutrality has seen it be repeatedly land in the crosshairs of both Russian and Ukraine.

Although Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has offered to broker negotiations between the two sides and help with a potential peace agreements, both countries have accused Israel of tacitly taking the other’s side.

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Russia has also ramped up its criticism of Israeli air strikes in Syria, a marked departure from previous policy.

Ukrainian officials have vocally complained about Israel’s refusal to send military support and supplies to the embattled eastern European nation, despite medical and humanitarian aid they had received from Jerusalem.

UN Watch noted that since 2015, Ukraine has voted against Israel in 78% of UN resolutions concerning Israel, including one just last week.

“Dear Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk: Last year Hamas terrorists fired 4,000 rockets at Israeli civilians. When the UN adopts Palestinian-sponsored resolutions that condemn Israel for defending itself, why does Ukraine vote for 78% of them?” the NGO stated.