The flurry of meetings between top Ukraine officials and those in the US, Israel and elsewhere continued on Sunday, with Kiev asking for more military and financial aid from the Biden Administration, as well as technical support from Israel in the face of what appears to be an impending Russian invasion of its borders.
According to Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Ukraine requested “all kinds of assistance” from Israel in a number of different areas. “These are being evaluated through a somewhat complex process due to the nature of the requests; we will respond when we have finished our assessment,” he said.
Lapid expressed Israel’s concern over the escalating crisis in Ukraine in a meeting Sunday in Jerusalem with Emine Dzhaparova, First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine.
The Israeli Foreign Minister updated the Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister on Israel’s decision to publish a travel warning and expressed hope that the escalation will come to a halt “as a result of diplomatic talks led by the US.”
The Israeli foreign minister also emphasized his concern for Israelis and Jews in the country, and provided an update on preparations and the reinforcement of the Embassy in Kiev.
Speaking with reporters in Jerusalem following the meeting, Lapid said that Israeli Tourism Minister Yoel Razvozov met Sunday with Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov to “be updated and to update him as well.”
Israel is the only country currently in Ukraine, Lapid pointed out, that not only is not withdrawing its diplomats, but in fact is adding to them and to embassy staff in order to assist Israelis and Jews who want to leave.
“We are operating on an emergency format,” Lapid said. “We are also preparing for the possible closure of the airspace” over Ukraine, “even though at this moment, it doesn’t look like it is going to happen.”
In addition, he said, “We are making arrangements for a possible sudden evacuation of Israelis and Jews from Ukraine, via overland transport” through Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Moldova as well.
“This morning we evacuated all of the families of our diplomats in Ukraine,” Lapid noted. “And we call on the Israelis who are in the country to leave. But in a state that has between 10,000 and 15,000 Israeli citizens and between 150,000 to 200,000 Jews, we cannot just pull out our diplomats, because we are going to need them. That is part of the job of the Foreign Ministry, and part of the pride of our Foreign Ministry — that Israel is always there to help Israelis in case of need.”
With regard to the current military situation on the Ukrainian border, Lapid commented dryly that he doesn’t see much difference “between what is happening on the border between Russia and Ukraine, and what is happening on our own northern border.
“Israel operates in cooperation — there is a good mechanism for working together — with the Russians in Syria. And Israel, as usual, will operate in accordance with our assessment of what is needed to protect our security.”
Regardless of the circumstances, he added, “Israel will not accept any continued Iranian presence across our northern border.”
But Israel has accepted the fact that it must operate with a great deal of caution in its dealings with Russia and Ukraine in the current situation, noting that there are “very large Jewish communities” in both countries, a situation which requires delicate maneuvering in order to preserve the safety of both.
The Foreign Minister ducked a question about a request from Kiev for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Lapid to both visit Kiev to show their support.
“We will hold a meeting about this, while we are also tracking the developments there, and then we will make an educated decision about the issue,” Lapid said. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky made a similar request to US President Joe Biden as well during their conversation on Sunday.
Israel has also been peripherally involved in trying to help bring an end to the crisis, Lapid said.
“There were some contacts, although as I said before we are not a dominant player in this relationship,” he said. There was a discussion with Ukraine’s President Zelensky about the issue of Ukraine’s borders and his request to President Putin during their conversation in Sochi, about whether it was possible to use Jerusalem for a summit or for negotiation effort — a request that was rejected.
“It did not come to pass; it wasn’t relevant to the other side,” Lapid said. “I spoke with Russia’s Foreign Minister [Sergei] Lavrov with regard to requests from Secretary of State Blinken [as well]. . . so there were efforts, but they were not much different from the efforts of other Western nations in this chapter,” he said.
As for whether Israel has learned any lessons about its own security from watching the saga of Ukraine, Lapid said with some asperity, “Sadly, the Jewish nation doesn’t need the Ukraine experience for us to know not to depend on anyone other than ourselves. My father understood this in the Ghetto.
“We do not place our security in anyone’s hands and Israel’s security and existence survives because we can defend ourselves, and that’s the way it will always be. We need no permission from anyone nor protection from anyone; the whole point of Israel’s establishment and freedom is to ensure we defend ourselves, by ourselves”
Is there any chance to head off what seems to be a near-certain Russian invasion of Ukraine? Lapid said he still believes it could be done.
“I think it is possible to prevent this conflict, and that we must prevent it. The way to do that is not to abandon the path of diplomacy and to cause the two sides to lose contact with each other. The assessments change every day or two depending on the details we receive. But our basic stance is that it is still possible to prevent this conflict.”
Pentagon Not as Optimistic
In the US this weekend, the Pentagon echoed the warning by other Biden Administration officials that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could come “at any time.”
Speaking with reporters this weekend, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said that US officials believe Russia’s President Vladimir Putin “gets closer every day.
“It’s hard to tell exactly, because we don’t know what’s on his mind,” Kirby went on. “He has well north of 100,000-plus troops – and he continues to add [more], even over the last 24 to 48 hours. So every day he gives himself new capabilities, new options, and as we’ve said, he could actually do something any day now. It’s just a matter of when, and what size” the attack may be.
Kirby said NATO is, however, ready to deal with whatever comes next.
“We have added some force posture to what is already a very robust force posture in Europe of 80,000 troops,” Kirby told Fox News on Sunday in an interview.
“We’ve added some to that, to reassure Allies and to deter aggression against the NATO alliance, but there is no plan, no expectation that those troops are going to be going into Ukraine,” he said.
During the president’s hour-long conversation on Sunday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Biden “reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said a statement from the White House issued after the call.
One day earlier, Biden warned Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in a phone call from Camp David that the US and its Allies would respond “decisively and impose swift and severe costs” on Moscow if a decision is made to invade Ukraine.
Similarly, Biden told Zelensky that the United States would respond “swiftly and decisively, together with its Allies and partners, to any further Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the statement said.
“The two leaders agreed on the importance of continuing to pursue diplomacy and deterrence in response to Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s borders.”
