Russia must have known that Hamas terrorists were planning an attack on Israel or could have even provoked the attack. This was stated in an interview with Lb.ua by Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada and chairman of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation, when asked whether the terrorists' war against Israel affects Ukraine.
"Of course, it does. Russia is taking advantage of this situation. What is Putin's minimum programme? To divert attention from Russia's aggression against Ukraine. I believe that the Russian special services, which have always had influence on Hamas and have established very close ties with this organisation, should have known that such a terrorist attack on Israel was being prepared," he said.
Merezhko added that another hypothesis is that Moscow may have even provoked the attack.
He also commented on US President Joe Biden's column for The Washington Post that the security of states around the world is now very closely linked. America now has three strategic priorities.
"The first is Europe, where Russia's war against Ukraine is taking place, and where it is important to maintain stability, including markets. The second is the Middle East, where the state of Israel plays a central role, being the only democratic country in the region. The third is the Indo-Pacific region, where the security of Taiwan is of key importance to the United States. These three regions are interconnected, and Russia understands this very well, which is why it is trying to undermine the security of each of them," the MP said.