Israel assures Russia it will not send weapons to Ukraine

cross-posted from: https://szmer.info/post/15796027

🟦 Russian diplomats say Israel promises to continue refraining from military supplies to Kyiv and to maintain direct political contacts with Moscow.

🟦 Israel denies selling arms to Ukraine

• Alexander Kinshchak, head of the Russian MFA’s Middle East department, said Israel has assured Moscow that reports of weapons deliveries to Kyiv are false.

• Russian officials have discussed such claims with Israel through various channels and have been convinced that these reports do not reflect reality.

• Israel continues to adhere to its "stated position on this sensitive issue", Kinschak said in his interview to Interfax.

🟦 Deep ties between Russia and Israel

• Russian-Israeli relations "have a special character due to deep historical and cultural ties", Russian diplomat says. More than one million Russian-speaking people live in Israel.

• "Despite intense pressure from its Western allies, it never officially joined the anti-Russian sanctions", Kinshchak noted.

• Two countries maintain a confidential political dialogue at the highest level: Putin and Netanyahu held six phone calls in 2025 and two more this year.

🟦 Extremely limited aid for Ukraine

• Israel’s assistance to Ukraine has been minimal and almost entirely non-lethal (medical kits, protective gear, licenses).

• Israel refused to supply Ukraine with air defense systems, including Patriot, Iron Dome, or other critical weapons.

• The only notable exception — a Patriot battery in 2025 — was returned to the US at Washington’s request and handed over to Ukraine, so it cannot be regarded as Israeli assistance.

🟦 Israel’s military-tech cooperation with Russia

• Since 2014, Israel has supplied Russia with various military technologies and dual-use goods.

• Russia has been producing drones such as Forpost, Lancet and Zastava for over ten years under Israeli license.

• Israel has also exported high-precision machine tools and metalworking equipment that significantly improved the quality of Russian missile and drone production.

[Sources: Interfax, SIPRI, Trading Economics]