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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said that he would like to see Israel “choose a side — the Ukrainian side,” rather than making efforts to mediate in the peace process.
As he addressed a press conference on Friday marking one year anniversary of the invasion, Ukraine's leader said that he was aware of Tel Aviv's “complex” situation, adding that
he would prefer to strengthen the ties and have Israel more openly condemn Russia's offensive on Ukrainian soil. Zelenskyy called for Israel to forcefully oppose Russia and side with
Ukraine. He also expressed discontentment over Israel's refusal to supply weapons to Kyiv. Israel has been defending its position during the ongoing conflict, saying that the country
has pledged an estimated $22.5 million in humanitarian aid to Kyiv since the inception of the war and had also sent field hospitals. Tel Aviv also voted among 140 other countries calling for
Russia to stop hostilities at the UN General Assembly [UNGA]. Israel actively supported Kyiv in the resolutions drafted to stop the war at the UN. Israel has refrained from sending weapons
to Kyiv, as it needs the approval to operate aircraft in the Moscow-controlled skies over Syria. Israel and Russia have forged a strong military and bilateral cooperation vis-à-vis Syria,
and both the Jewish state and the Kremlin have maintained each other's long-term interests in the Levant. The two countries have set up a "deconfliction mechanism" to prevent
the troops on both sides from clashing across swathes of Syrian territories that they are deployed, where Moscow's forces backed by Syrian President Bashar-al-Asad, are a key major
player. Israel targets the Iran-backed militia to prevent the weapons flow into the hands of the Iran-funded militia on Israeli territory. Even as Russia's President Vladimir Putin
ordered the "special military operation" in Kyiv, the Russian embassy in Israel issued a statement, saying: “Our military officials discuss the practical issues of this
substantively on a daily basis. This mechanism has proven to be useful and will continue to work." Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz, in earlier remarks, outrightly denied
sending weapons to Ukraine. "Israel will not send weapons to Ukraine," Gantz clarified at a briefing, adding that “our policy vis-a-vis Ukraine will not change — we will continue
to support and stand with the West, we will not provide weapon systems."