Israel Supplies Ukraine With Arms Through Third Countries

Under pressure from the United States, Israel has agreed to finance the supply of millions of dollars worth of "strategic materials" to Ukraine, reports the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The publication, citing European diplomatic sources, states that U.S. representatives approached Israeli authorities a few weeks ago, persistently requesting that Israel join NATO countries in their efforts to provide assistance to Kyiv.

The authors write that Washington wanted Jerusalem to supply anti-air defense systems to Kyiv, although Israeli authorities had previously officially rejected this possibility, citing national interests.

As a result, the parties agreed that Israel would "finance strategic materials" for the Ukrainian side. Sources stated that the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Yair Lapid, has approved this step, but the Cabinet of Ministers has refused to make an official comment.

According to sources, Israel has spent a total of "several million dollars" for these purposes, which were transferred to one of the NATO member states that is "deeply involved in supplying military equipment to Ukraine." This state has used the received funds to acquire the same strategic materials and send them to Ukraine.

At the same time, the article does not specify what exactly is meant by "strategic materials." The authors note that Israeli authorities requested all parties involved in these supplies not to publish details in order not to provoke the Russian side.

According to sources, Israel has also agreed to the possibility of supplying weapon systems containing Israeli components to Ukraine through NATO countries, including optical systems and fire control systems.