Today, Tuesday, the Israeli army radio account stated on Twitter that Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that Russia had activated the S-300 air defense system for the first time in Syria following an Israeli air strike in Syria, and the statement came in light of the tense relationship between the two countries. Tel Aviv and Moscow because of the Israeli position on the Russian war on Ukraine.
The Israeli Defense Minister added that the activation of the Russian missile system took place months ago, following the Israeli attack inside Syria, noting that the Israeli warplanes were not in the air when the Russian system was activated.
The Israeli Army Radio quoted Minister Gantz as saying that I do not support, for the time being, what is circulating that Israeli-Russian relations are deteriorating.
Israeli raids
Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Israel to desist from the air strikes it has launched for years against Iranian targets inside Syrian territory, after Israeli fighters bombed an Iranian military site near the Russian naval base on the Tartus coast in northwestern Syria.
Last month, Moscow criticized an Israeli air strike that put Damascus International Airport out of service for several days.
These Russian statements come in response to Tel Aviv's criticism of the Russian war on Ukraine, and the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it regrets "Israel's taking a non-constructive and biased position on the situation in Ukraine in recent months."
Among the latest manifestations of tense Russian-Israeli relations, the Russian Ministry of Justice filed a few days ago a lawsuit to close the Jewish Agency branch in Russian territory on the grounds that the agency’s activity violated Russian laws, which Tel Aviv criticized, saying that it was related to a Russian attempt to punish Israel for its stance on the war in Ukraine.