Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz refused a request for weapons from his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksiy Reznikov, during a phone call on Monday. Despite its official aversion to arming Ukraine, Israel is reportedly offering Kiev military intelligence and certain weapons on the private market.
Gantz told Reznikov that Israel supports Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, but would not supply arms due to “operative restrictions,” the Times of Israel reported. The restrictions in question likely refer to Israel’s air sorties in Syria, which depend on communication with Russia, which controls much of the country’s airspace.
The Israeli minister said that his country would continue to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as well as protective equipment such as helmets and body armor.
Several planned calls between Gantz and Reznikov were canceled over the past week, with Kiev scrapping a conversation scheduled for last Thursday after Gantz definitively stated that Israel would not supply any weapons to Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials have called on Israel to donate air defense systems for several months, but these calls intensified after Russia began pounding Ukraine’s power infrastructure with autonomous ‘kamikaze’ drones.
