Defense Minister Benny Gantz spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov and stressed that Israel will not be able to supply Kyiv with weapons systems due to “operational limitations”, Gantz’s office said on Monday
At the beginning of the phone call between the two, which was supposed to take place last Thursday but was postponed at the request of the Ukrainians, Reznikov updated his Israeli counterpart on the progress of the military campaign against Russia.
Gantz wished to express his sincere condolences for the loss of life and the severe humanitarian crisis that the Ukrainian people are suffering following the bombings of the Russian army, and emphasized that Israel stands by Ukraine's side as well as the humanitarian efforts undertaken so far and the willingness of the Israeli defense establishment to continue supporting Ukraine in protecting civilians and saving lives.
The ministers agreed on an immediate dialogue between the professional echelons with the goal of Israel assisting in the provision of civil alert systems.
At the end of the conversation, which was described as positive, the two agreed to keep in touch in the coming weeks and discuss other issues at hand.
Last week, senior Ukrainian officials harshly criticized the Israeli defense chief following his statement that Israel will continue to refrain from supplying weapons to the Eastern European country in its protracted war with Russia.
After Gantz offered Kyiv help to construct a smart missile defense alert system similar to the one that exists in Israel, the Ukrainians said, “it’s too little, too late… to say it now, it seems like a joke where a person asks for a piece of bread, and someone offers you a spoon.”