Many people feel Ukraine should be supported generously with aid: food and medical supplies, housing, consulting, military supplies and far more. They believe Western nations must help alleviate Ukraine’s humanitarian needs, but they also believe the Russian attempt to restore a version of the Soviet Empire must be stopped now. Others are skeptical of Ukrainian intentions, question its human-rights record, and believe Ukraine is responsible for its own conflict and resolution.
Israel has been challenged by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky repeatedly to do more than it has already done. There have been multiple requests for Israel to share its vaunted Iron Dome defense technology to protect embattled Ukrainian citizens.
The reader can be sure that Israel has provided substantial humanitarian aid. Israel’s record on assisting nations in crisis is unmatched internationally. And off the record, Israel has been active as well. Still, there are some technologies and equipment that must remain proprietary to Israel alone.
As the Russian-Ukrainian war grinds on, progress is becoming more elusive. The Ukrainian Army is pushing forward slowly at great cost of life and with depleted ammunition.
Sporadically, the Russian forces make small advances too, yielding booty that includes Western weaponry. According to The Moscow Times (November 9, 2022), various advanced rockets (British NLAW and US Javelin ATGM anti-tank missiles and a Stinger anti-aircraft missile), have been captured by the Russians and shipped to Iran in exchange for 166 Iranian drones.
Iranian engineers, among the most-skilled in the world, will reverse-engineer and eventually copy and improve on the Western systems. It is certain that such weaponry would end up in the hands of Iranian proxies, such as the terrorist group Hizbullah in Lebanon. That would pose a very real threat to Israel’s defense capabilities (The Jamestown Foundation, July 11, 2023), something Israel cannot allow. In existential matters, Israel cannot compromise.