Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, said Israel is missing an opportunity to learn from Ukraine’s years of experience fighting explosive drones, as Israeli soldiers continue to be wounded and killed by Hezbollah drones in Lebanon.
In an interview with ynet, Korniychuk said Ukraine is watching the Israeli battlefield with concern because it has faced the same threat throughout its war with Russia.
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Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk and Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Ukranian Embassy, Tomer Shonam Halevi)
“We are fighting from a different angle against the same axis of evil,” he said. “Unfortunately, we do not see much interest or appetite from the Israeli leadership in this field. I do not want to speculate about the reasons for that.”
The ambassador said he was deeply sorry to hear reports of Israeli soldiers being hit by drones, adding that Ukraine has endured the same kind of attacks for years.
“I am very sorry to hear reports about soldiers who were hit by drones, because we suffer from exactly the same thing,” he said.
Korniychuk said the recent dispute over Ukrainian grain had exposed broader problems in relations between Kyiv and Jerusalem. Still, he said his role as ambassador is to find areas of mutual benefit and cooperation.
“My duty as ambassador is to find common ground for mutual benefit and development, and I truly believe our conversations could have been much better,” he said.
The ambassador said many Israelis he speaks with do not understand why Israel has not adopted more from Ukraine’s anti-drone experience.
“When meeting people from different parts of Israeli society, I often hear frustration over the fact that Israel is missing an opportunity to save more of its soldiers’ lives,” he said. “Most Israelis support Ukraine and do not understand why Ukrainians are able to deal with drones and Israel is not.”
Korniychuk also addressed the possibility of a visit to Israel by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying Kyiv had worked to build direct political contact between the two countries’ leaders but had not received an invitation.
“As you know, President Zelensky recently made several regional visits in the Middle East, mainly to discuss security cooperation and advancing peace,” he said. “I worked hard to create direct political contact for our leadership. However, you cannot come to someone’s home without an invitation.”
Asked why he believes Israel rejected the Ukrainian offer, Korniychuk said: “I have no answer to that. But I prefer to focus on what can be done to change this situation.”
His comments came after Israel’s ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, said Zelensky had been invited to visit Israel and meet, among others, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Korniychuk rejected that account.
“We did not receive an invitation, and that is a fact,” he said. “We have a good professional-level relationship, which unfortunately is not enough — especially in these difficult days, in the middle of a war. I am sure we have a deep shared interest. Let us help each other.”