Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on 24 October once more called on Israel to join the fight against Russia and repeated demands for Tel Aviv to deliver air defense systems to Kiev.

“Isn’t it time for your state to choose who you are with as well?” Zelensky told Israeli newspaper Haaretz, before adding “Is it with the democratic world, which is fighting side by side against the existential threat to its existence?”

He also blamed Israel’s official neutrality for “encouraging” Russia’s military partnership with Iran.

“This alliance of theirs simply would not have happened if your politicians had made only one decision at the time … The decision ‘not to annoy’ the Kremlin, not to help Ukraine for real [enabled the alliance between Moscow and Tehran],” Zelensky alleged.

Since the start of the war, senior Ukrainian officials – both in public speeches as well as private conversations with Israeli officials – have asked Tel Aviv for its Iron Dome defense system.

However, Israel has so far refused to provide direct military assistance in order to avoid sparking a bigger crisis with Moscow that would threaten their illegal operations in Syria.

Last week, the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, warned Israel of severe repercussions if it provides military aid to Ukraine.

“It seems Israel is preparing to supply the Kiev regime with weapons. It is a very reckless move. It will destroy all bilateral relations between our two countries,” Medvedev, who served as president and prime minister in the past, said in a statement.

Despite Moscow’s public warnings and Israel’s official stance, Tel Aviv has already been supplying Ukraine with non-lethal aid, including military equipment, satellite imagery, and, allegedly, missile defense systems sold by a private military contractor via a Polish intermediary.

On top of this, reserve members of the Israeli military – who hail from the elite commandos unit known as the General Staff Company – provided training to Ukrainian volunteers at the onset of the war, according to a report by Yedioth Ahronoth.

Israel has also played an instrumental role in providing Ukraine with armed mercenaries.

On 2 March, the ambassador of Ukraine to Israel, Yevgeny Kornichuk, confirmed that dozens of Israelis traveled to his country to “fight Russian troops.”

Kornichuk’s revelation came just a few days after the Ukrainian embassy in Tel Aviv announced it had started recruiting Israelis to fight against the Russian army.

Soon after the start of the conflict – instigated by NATO’s expansionist agenda – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the formation of an “international legion” and called on foreigners to join.

These mercenaries also included ISIS fighters and hundreds of members of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) armed group.