Last night (between Shabbat and Sunday), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy argued that Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza is “taking the focus” away from Russia’s war against Ukraine. Zelenskyy expressed the fear that this may harm the support Ukraine was receiving from countries in the west.
According to a report by BBC, Zelenskyy claimed to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Russia is interested in the world’s focus on the war in Ukraine becoming weaker – and that this is one of its goals. “It is clear that the war in the Middle East takes the focus from Ukraine,” he argued. “Everyone is exhausted, and there are different views on the war. Russia wants to weaken the focus on us, but everything is still in our control.”
Zelenskyy’s concerns come as reports come in of talks aimed at bringing the Ukrainian President to Israel for a show of support, a visit which may happen this week. However, sources in the Ukrainian government said that such reports “harm national security.”
“The report by us was brought yesterday to the attention of President Zelenskyy, and he was disappointed,” said those sources, who said that “there is no decision currently regarding a date for a visit. The leaking of a possible visit by the President harms relations between the countries and harms trust among decision makers. The two states are in a state of war. The situation is even more difficult, and issues of security are therefore important and must be above all else. This leak harms the security of the President and his staff.”