under the new right-wing government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But the country has stopped short of providing direct lethal military aid to Ukraine, despite pleas from leadership in Kyiv. Israel's complicated relationship with Russia has multiple dimensions to it. For starters, Israel is home to large Russian and Ukrainian communities, while both of these countries host Jewish populations.
But the issue that remains front and center when it comes to Israel's reluctance to send military aid to Ukraine involves neighboring Syria and a shadowy conflict between Israel and its regional foe, Iran. A top UK official said in December that Russia was also seeking a massive supply of ballistic missiles from Iran and was prepared to offer the country"unprecedented"In theory, the threat posed by Russia-Iran cooperation in this space would appear to be the most likely impetus for Israel to provide additional support for Ukraine, Alterman said, but Israel is reluctant to lose the freedom of action it has in Syria because it perceives Hezbollah to be a tremendous danger.
An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performs during a graduation ceremony of Israeli Air Force pilots, at the Hatzerim base in the Negev desert, near the southern city of Beer Sheva, on December 28, 2022.