The head of Israeli diplomacy in Ukraine, a first since the start of the war

An Israeli minister in Ukraine is a first since the start of the Russian offensive in the country on February 24. According to the Israeli foreign minister on Twitter, his visit to the country is to send a message: “ Israel stands with Ukraine and with Ukrainians in these difficult times “.

Before a scheduled meeting with his counterpart, Dmytro Kouleba and President Zelensky, Eli Cohen went to Boutcha, a city symbol of the Russian atrocities committed during this war. “ I went to Boutcha, a suburb of kyiv, badly damaged at the beginning of the war. One cannot remain indifferent to these difficult images and to the stories of atrocities that I have heard here. Israel condemns intentional attacks against innocent people “wrote the minister.

The head of Israeli diplomacy then went to the Babi Yar memorial in kyiv, a place that houses the remains of nearly 34,000 Jews massacred in 1941 while the city was under Nazi occupation.

Neutrality

Since the beginning of the conflict, Israel has shown neutrality and did not provide weapons to Ukraine despite multiple requests from Volodymyr Zelensky. At the beginning of February, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had however declared that his country was considering a military aid for Ukraine, while proposing to mediate in the conflict.

A declaration which earned him a warning from Russia emanating from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “ We say that all countries that deliver weapons must understand that we will consider (these weapons) as legitimate targets for the Russian armed forces “.

(With AFP)