Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgeni Kornichuk will be summoned to the Israeli Foreign Ministry for an official reprimand, over his public condemnation of his host’s relationship with Russia. The step was confirmed by Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, during a press briefing on Sunday.
Kornichuk had accused Israel of siding with Russia under the guise of "neutrality," claiming "a series of controversial events that have occurred since the beginning of 2023, along with the almost complete lack of humanitarian aid to Ukraine."
Denouncing the Ukrainian diplomat's "harsh" remarks, Cohen countered, "Despite the complexity with Russia, Israel stood with Ukraine from the beginning of the war until today, publicly supported its territorial integrity and its sovereignty, and voted to condemn Russia in international forums."
"Israel sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine in an unprecedented manner," he continued, noting that this year’s sum would surpass even last year’s total of 80 million shekels ($22 million) and pointing out that the missile warning system Israel was currently "adapting" to Kiev would ultimately save Ukrainian lives.
In addition to complaining about insufficient financial aid, Kornichuk’s post claimed Cohen’s visit to Kiev in February had been "fruitless" and accused PM Benjamin Netanyahu of devising "entirely fictional and speculative assumptions" to justify refusing to arm Ukraine. In an interview last week, Netanyahu told the Jerusalem Post he had "concerns" that any weapons systems given to Ukraine could ultimately end up with Iran and be used against Israel itself.
"That’s not a theoretical possibility," the PM insisted, pointing out, "It actually happened with the Western anti-tank weapons that we now find at our borders. So we have to be very careful here." Kornichuk dismissed those concerns, denying the weapons in question were newly arrived from the Ukrainian front.
"Not providing [Ukraine] with weapons is just a decision to please the Russians," he said, declaring Israel’s "so-called ‘neutrality’" was also "a clear pro-Russian position."
Israel could only "be on [the] right side of history" - and "support freedom and democratic world order" - by arming Ukraine, Kornichuk argued, claiming the country was ignoring the wishes of the "global Jewish Diaspora" by declining to supply missile defense systems like its coveted Iron Dome to Kiev. "You can’t win a war with bandages and antibiotics."
Israel has struggled to maintain neutrality with regard to the Ukrainian conflict. The country signed a deal with Moscow last month to open a branch of the Russian Embassy in West Jerusalem, further angering Kiev, while Israel’s Ambassador to Ukraine was lambasted last week by Moscow for defending Ukraine’s veneration of its Nazi collaborator "heroes."