Out of concern for its relations with Russia, Israel refuses to provide Ukraine with the "Iron Dome"

The Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, reported today, Tuesday, that Israel rejected a request from Ukraine to provide it with the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system, "for fear of the impact on its relations with Russia."

The newspaper said that Israel rejected the request, which was initially submitted by Ukraine to the United States of America, and then directly to Israel, "so as not to risk a confrontation with Russia."

According to the newspaper, Kiev's request for the system manufactured by Israel, in cooperation with the United States, came last year, and was recently renewed.

She explained that Israel "found itself last year in a complicated situation, around one of its most impressive technological achievements ... the Iron Dome, and Kiev's desire to acquire it. Such equipment could have put Israel in a state of severe crisis towards Moscow."

Yedioth Ahronoth pointed out that "the huge publicity that Iron Dome gained in the wake of the military confrontation with Hamas in May 2021 in Gaza made it huge popularity even in Ukraine."

The newspaper revealed that the Ukrainians began to work "actively in Washington to persuade US lawmakers to begin transferring the missile defense system to them."

"The Ukrainian government formally asked the Biden administration to transfer Patriot and Iron Dome missiles to Ukraine last spring; a Russian invasion was not in sight," she said.

But Israel, according to the newspaper, made it clear to the US administration in informal talks that it would not be able to agree to transfer the Iron Dome batteries to Kiev, due to relations with Russia.

"In recent months, the Ukrainians have turned directly to the Israeli government and demanded Israeli support in providing the system," she said, adding that the Americans were also convinced of the Israeli arguments, and that dropped "the transfer of the Iron Dome to Ukraine completely."

The Iron Dome missile defense system was developed in Israel, but it is a joint project with the US Department of Defense.

The agreement between the two parties does not allow the system to be sold to a third country without mutual consent, according to the Israeli newspaper.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation had quoted Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid as saying, on Sunday, that Ukraine had requested military assistance from Israel, and that it was looking into this request, without further details.

Moscow recently massed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, raising fears in Western countries that the Kremlin might order a military attack against its ex-Soviet neighbour.

While the United States and its allies warned of an imminent attack and threatened Russia with "serious consequences", Russia denied its willingness to invade, and accused Western countries of undermining its security through the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) towards its borders.