Israel Pressured To Deliver 'Strategic Materials' Worth Millions To Ukraine - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th November, 2022) Israel has spent millions of Dollars to procure some undisclosed strategic materials for Ukraine via a third country "under pressure" from the Unites States, contrary to the official Israeli stance to provide Kiev only with humanitarian assistance, the Haaretz newspaper reported on Thursday, citing sources.

The Israeli government reportedly decided to fund the purchase of strategic materials for Ukraine after the administration of the US President Joe Biden demanded that Israel switch from strictly humanitarian supplies and expand its assistance to Kiev by handing over military equipment, including air defense systems, Haaretz said.

The delivery agreement of undisclosed type of strategic materials had been reached via another NATO member country, which supplies armament to Ukraine, the report noted. Israel reportedly spent millions of dollars on military assistance to Ukraine, and the unnamed third country purchased necessary materials for Kiev.�

The Israeli side also agreed to allow NATO to supply Kiev with weapons that have Israeli-produced components such as the optical equipment and fire monitoring systems, Haaretz added.

The newspaper has not received any comments from either the Israeli Defense Ministry or the office of Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

On October 30, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk said that Ukraine had asked the US to exert pressure on Israel to organize weapons deliveries to Kiev and to look into Israel's compliance with sanctions against Russia because the US was "the only country that Israel is listening to."

Earlier in October, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said, citing "operational reasons," that Israel could not supply military hardware to Ukraine. He promised that Israel would help Ukrainians develop an air raid warning system and would provide relief aid. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Israel for withholding air defense weapons that he said his administration needed to protect the country from Russian airstrikes.

Russia launched a series of airstrikes against Ukrainian targets in October in response to a Kiev-organized blast that damaged the bridge linking the Crimea Peninsula to mainland Russia and killed four civilians.