Zelensky Complains to Hebrew U. Students About Israeli Support

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vented his frustrations over the level of support he has received from Israel during the war, in a video speech to students at Hebrew University on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, for most items of assistance we would want to get from Israel, we can’t say we’ve gotten any of that assistance,” said Zelensky, referring to requests for weaponry that Israel has turned down. However, Israel has sent humanitarian aid and purely defensive military equipment, such as helmets and flak jackets. It has also absorbed thousands of Ukrainian refugees, far more proportionally than other western countries with greater resources.

“Please remember how close we are linked, how our ties are, and what should be the level of understanding between us,” Zelensky, who is Jewish, implored, citing the Israeli pioneers who grew up in Ukraine, including prime minister Golda Meir and president Yitzhak Ben-Zvi.

“Why we have misunderstandings, miscommunication with representatives of the government, I don’t know,” he lamented.

Israel has been constrained in its support for Ukraine due to consideration of its delicate relationship with Russia, which allows the IDF to conduct airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria despite the presence of Russian bases there. In recent months, Moscow has rebuked Israel over its operations in Syria.