Israel summoned on Thursday Ukraine’s ambassador to Tel Aviv, Yevgen Korniychuk, for criticizing Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s remarks about the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
“I was deeply appalled by Lapid’s recent remarks regarding his vision of the ‘Russia-Ukraine conflict,’” he wrote on a Facebook post.
“I would like to remind the minister (Lapid) that it is not a conflict - it is a WAR, which Russia aggressively and cynically conducts against Ukraine,” he added.
He expressed regret over Lapid’s position on the developments in eastern Ukraine and accused him of reiterating the rhetoric of Russia’s propaganda.
“Sharing Israel’s concerns about Iran’s nuclear program, I dare to suggest that if a full-scale war breaks out in Europe, Israel will be left face-to-face with the Iranian threat.”
“At the moment, the (Israeli) assessment is that we don’t see a violent confrontation soon,” Lapid wrote on Twitter earlier.
He said his government is troubled by Ukraine’s request for assistance in the field of air and cyber defenses, as part of its preparations to confront Russia’s threats.
Lapid said the standoff between Ukraine and Russia has put Israel in a difficult position, as both countries have large Jewish populations.
“We have a duty to act with caution about the Russia-Ukraine crisis that no other country has,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit Israel and open an embassy in Jerusalem.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his country asked Israel for assistance with air and cyber defenses.
“We are also interested in deepened defense cooperation… in particular related to air defense,” he stated, welcoming Israel’s efforts to play a diplomatic role between Ukraine and Russia.
