For the first time since Russia launched a massive invasion of Ukraine, Israel approved export licenses for the potential supply of weapons to Ukraine, which can be systems of protection against unmanned aerial vehicleThis was announced yesterday, Wednesday, March 15, by the American news portal Axios, citing Israeli and Ukrainian officials.

According to the publication, two Israeli companies producing anti-drone systems, Elbit and Rafael, received such licenses. They use electronic technology to shoot down drones within a radius of about 40 kilometers. The report said Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen briefed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the issue of the permit during his visit to Kyiv in mid-February.

In addition, it is reported that a delegation of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine visited Israel to get acquainted with the proposed systems, but the supply contracts have not yet been signed.

Israel’s policy towards the war in Ukraine

Earlier, on January 28, Israeli Ambassador to Germany Roy Prossor said that Israel is helping Ukraine “but behind the scenes and much more than is known,” asking for an understanding of his country’s low-key position on this issue. The Israeli diplomat explained this attitude by the presence of “Russians in Syria”, as well as the presence of a large Jewish community in Russia.

Until recently, Israel categorically refused to supply weapons to Ukraine, although the Israeli authorities have repeatedly and unequivocally condemned Russian aggression. On January 19, new Secretary of State Eli Cohen assured Kyiv of continued humanitarian assistance.

Russian drone attacks

Before that, in October 2022, it was reported that the Ukrainian authorities sent a request to Israel for the supply of air defense systems to protect against Iranian drones, which Kyiv accuses Russia of using. When asked by DW about the possibility of supplying Ukraine with air defense system components, a representative of the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Israel “does not discuss such issues publicly.”

After early elections were held in Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power, he told CNN in early February that he did not rule out that his country would supply Ukraine with an Iron Dome air defense system.

According to some Western countries, as well as Kyiv, Iran is supplying unmanned combat aircraft to Russia, which the latter uses to attack Ukraine. However, Moscow and Tehran deny such cooperation.

^{Source: DW (Russian agency), APE – MEB}