Ukraine's defense minister said Wednesday his country hopes to develop cooperation with Israel that are based on mutual interests as fears of a Russian invasion mount.
In an interview on Ynet, Oleksii Reznikov said Israel has amassed experience in defense which could be benefitial to Ukraine in light of recent tensions with its neighbor.
"We hope to learn about defending against cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, defense against aerial and missiles attacks and the use of UAVs," he said. "There is a great potential for future cooperation," he said, emphasizing the fields of communication, hydro acoustic systems, aeronautics and more.
In a message to his troops on Tuesday, the minister said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken a further step towards a revival of the Soviet Union.
"Putin has shown his true self," he said as he accused the Russian president of attempting to "hold the free world hostage".
He added that the world can now see what Ukrainians have known for the past eight years, [since the Russian invasion of Crimea].
"Ukraine's military is able to gather reserve troops quickly and fight against all threats," Reznikov said, adding that Ukrainian law defies the armed forces' scope of authority to provide national defense.
"The strengthening of our ability to defend out territory has been ongoing, and we have re-organized our local civil defense forces, which is based on volunteers. Local mayors will head their local civilian defenses under the supervision of the Defense Ministry and will provide a line of defense against advancing enemy incursions," he said.
The minister said Kyiv received assurances from neighboring Belarus that it would not be used by Russian troops to advance on Ukraine.
"Therefore, we do not foresee an invasion from Belarus and our two countries have no issues in contention that cannot be resolved peacefully," he said. "Our intelligence services along with that of our partners is constantly updated."
Finally, the minister said his country was in need of weapons that would compel any adversary to think of the consequences of a potential invasion.
He also thanked other nations for their contribution to Ukraine, allowing its military to arm itself without burdening the Ukrainian tax payers.