President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed participants of the Haaretz Democracy Conference and called on Israel to join other countries in providing military assistance to Ukraine.
According to the president, Russia is losing to Ukraine in real battlefield engagements. Additional contingents that Russia withdrew from other countries are not helping it either. Particularly, those from Syria. Therefore, Russia has joined efforts with Iran to carry out terror in the air.
"Unfortunately, we do not have our own Iron Dome. We do not yet have a modern and effective air and missile defence system that could protect our skies... Russia strikes with missiles such as S-300. It uses them to hit Kharkiv, Mykolayiv, other cities... For eight months of the full-scale war, Russia has used almost 4,500 missiles against us. And their stock of missiles is decreasing," Zelenskyy said.
He noted that Russia pays Iran by helping its nuclear programme.
"And this alliance of theirs simply would not have happened if your politicians had made only one decision at one time. The decision we asked for. Every time we discuss the Russian missile and drone terror in Ukraine at the meetings of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff, we also talk about our partners who are already helping or can help us to protect the sky. Unfortunately, the words Israel and Israeli are not mentioned," he stressed.
He pointed out that the alliance of Russia and Iran could be rendered senseless if "we act together – we and you as well as other democracies".
"Isn't it time for your state to choose who you are with? With the democratic world, which is fighting side by side against the existential threat to its existence? Or with those who turn a blind eye to Russian terror even when the price of continuing terror is the complete destruction of global security?" Zelenskyy stressed.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba recently held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid. They discussed Ukraine's appeal to Israel to provide air and missile defence systems and technologies.
Prior to the meeting Kuleba said that Ukraine would send an official note to the government of Israel with a request to urgently provide air defence systems.