‘We don’t need a donation. We want to buy it,’ says Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk.
Ukraine’s ambassador urged Israel on Tuesday to sell its Iron Dome air defense system to Kyiv while criticizing the country for refusing to provide any military assistance.
Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv, Yevgen Korniychuk said they also want Israel to approve the transfer of its Spike SR anti-tank guided missile system from Germany to Ukraine, The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported.
“I want the Israeli government to move away from its comfort zone and get back to reality,” he noted, adding they need Israel’s help.
Reminding that although the US gave permission for the anti-spike missiles to be transferred from Germany to Ukraine, Korniychuk said Israel rejected it while Berlin wanted to make the transfer.
“We need Israeli assistance…I mean that we need the military-technical support; we need Iron Dome…which will allow us to save our civilian women and children from the shelling of the Russian missiles in our territory,” he added.
Accusing Israel of hesitating to provide Kyiv with any military assistance, even that of a defensive nature, Korniychuk said the Iron Dome system is not a weapon but a tool that will save lives.
“We don’t need a donation. We want to buy it,” he underlined.
According to the report, sources said that Israel is unlikely to sell the Iron Dome system to Ukraine or any other country due to regulations signed with the US on defense exports and international obligations to control the country’s defense export market.
-AA