Ukraine's Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk demanded that Israel do more to help his country fend off the Russia invasion, including by supplying Ukraine with the Iron Dome missile defense system.
“While Russia slaughters our citizens, the Israeli government remains in its comfort zone and refrains from providing Ukraine with minimal defensive assistance,” Korniychuk said at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
“We ask Israel for a defensive tool in the form of an Iron Dome and similar defensive tools,” he added “As Israel protects the residents of the Gaza [envelope] from Hamas fire, we must protect our citizens, women, children and men, from the shelling that endangers their lives.”
"We feel that the people of Israel show empathy and warmth towards us. The government also shows empathy but only through words. When it comes to actions, everything looks different. We asked for protective helmets and vests and received perhaps ten percent of our total request. We also turned to Israel to help us by absorbing former soldiers in Israel whose limbs were amputated in order to fit them with prostheses - and even in this, Israel is in no hurry to help. Some countries have already absorbed hundreds of such soldiers."
"It is important for me to thank Israeli citizens, companies and organizations, who have been helping Ukraine since the first day of the war. The Israeli government must consider the moral aspect and decide whether to join the side of righteousness like the other democracies in the world," he added.
"Although in Israel the media is already covering the war less, it is still going strong and its end is not in sight. The Russians are shelling our cities, deliberately slaughtering our citizens and committing war crimes on a daily basis," the Ukrainian ambassador said.