Israel believes that Moscow won't apologize for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's claim that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish blood, sources said Tuesday.
The news came hours after the Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov for talk to elaborate on Russia's stance on the matter.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said the conversation with the Russian ambassador was "tough" and it is estimated that Russia will not respond to Israel's harsh criticism of Lavrov's remarks.
Moscow's top diplomat told the Italian media on Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's Jewish origins do not negate the fact that there are Nazi elements in his government.
Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry mulls the possibility to expand the aid to Ukraine and provide helmets and flak jackets to Kyiv. The decision hasn't yet been approved, and it is doubtful Israel will provide any other offensive means as it might raise tensions with the Russians and harming the Isreli security interests in Syria.
Ynet also learned that the Foreign Ministry is set to send a delegation of diplomats to Kyiv to evaluate the condition of the Israeli embassy in Ukraine and possibly re-open it.
This will be the first time the embassy staff will return to the Ukrainian capital since they were evacuated to Poland at the onset of the war. They are expected to stay in Kyiv for a few days.
The purpose of the structural examination of the embassy is to prepare it for a re-opening after several other states had already announced their intention to resume diplomatic activity in Ukraine.
However, in the past few days, Russia bombarded the Kyiv area a couple of times, even during the visit of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.