Israel–Ukraine relations are foreign relations between Israel and Ukraine. Both countries recognized each other on 11 May 1949 as the Ukrainian SSR and established de jure diplomatic relations on 26 December 1991 when Ukraine became independent.[1] Israel has an embassy in Kyiv. Ukraine has an embassy in Tel Aviv and a consulate-general in Haifa. There are 30,000 Ukrainians settled in Israel,[2] while Ukraine has one of Europe's largest Jewish communities.[3] Ukraine was also the first state outside of Israel to have had both a Jewish president and prime minister simultaneously.
When Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union as the Ukrainian SSR, it was one of 33 states that voted for separate Jewish and Arab states in Mandatory Palestine during the UN Partition Plan in 1947. The Soviet Union broke off relations with Israel in 1967 after the Six-Day War and restored diplomatic relations in 1991, when Ukraine became independent.
After Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, Israel did not vote for a UN resolution condemning the annexation. US State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US was "surprised that Israel did not join the vast majority of countries that voted to support Ukraine’s territorial integrity".[7] The Israeli government said it did not vote due to a public workers strike.[8] Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu later refused to condemn Russia's annexation.[9]
In November 2014, Oleg Vyshniakov, a Ukrainian entrepreneur and public figure, was appointed to Israel's honorary consul in western Ukraine.[10] In May 2015 he was inaugurated as honorary consul of Israel in Lviv.[11]
In December 2016, Ukraine as a non-permanent member of United Nations Security Council voted in favor of resolution 2334, which condemned Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry considered the resolution balanced since it also urged the Palestinian side to combat terrorism.[12] Ukraine's foreign ministry likened Israel's settlement of the West Bank to the Russian occupation of Crimea.[13] In reaction, Israel cancelled a planned visit of the Ukrainian prime minister.[14]
In February 2022, during the buildup to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel accused Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid of repeating "Russian propaganda". The Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned the Ukrainian Ambassador for an official reprimand.[15]
When Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Israeli Foreign Minister Lapid and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett expressed support for Ukraine, although Bennett did not condemn Russia.[16] He offered humanitarian aid to the Ukrainians and help to Jews who wanted to leave Ukraine.[17][18] Israel's foreign ministry stated that it respected Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, but did not mention Russia.[19]
On 25 February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett mediate in the war with Russia, according to the Ukrainian envoy to Israel.[20] On 5 March, Bennett flew to Moscow and held a three-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine, after which Bennett spoke to Zelenskyy by phone.[21] At the Kremlin, Bennett also raised the issue of the Jewish community caught up in the invasion.[21][22] An unnamed senior Ukrainian official accused Bennett of having "proposed that we surrender", claiming Bennett urged Zelenskyy to "take the offer" of a "peace deal" from Putin. This report was denied by the Israeli Prime Minister's office and a senior adviser to Zelenskyy.[23]
Israel declined to co-sponsor a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Russian invasion; the United States expressed disappointment.[24] Israel later voted in favour of the resolution condemning the invasion.[25]
On 11 March 2022, Ukraine's ambassador urged Israel to impose sanctions on Russia, take more Ukrainian refugees, and supply defensive weapons.[26] In a speech to Ukraine's parliament on March 20, President Zelenskyy chastised Israel, asking why it was not sending Ukraine missile defenses or condemning Russia for its invasion. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid replied that Israel would help Ukraine's people "as much as we can" by continuing to send humanitarian aid.[27] On July 3, Israel lifted its restrictions on the numbers of Ukrainian refugees it would take. Zelenskyy welcomed the decision.[28] An estimated 15,000 Ukrainian refugees had fled to Israel.[29]
In November 2022, Ukraine supported a UN resolution that asked the International Court of Justice to investigate Israel's "prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of Palestinian territory". In response, Israel summoned and admonished the Ukrainian ambassador.[32] Then, in "an apparent act of retaliation", Israel did not support a UN resolution calling on Russia to pay reparations for invading Ukraine.[33]
In May 2023, an Israeli-made missile alert system began operating in Kyiv. Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, credited Netanyahu's personal involvement in this process. However, Israel continued to refuse to supply Ukraine with missile defenses.[34] Israel noted the danger posed by Russians capturing an Iron Dome system, which could result in Iran gaining access to it and reverse-engineering the weapons.[35] In October 2023 it was reported that a version of the Tzeva Adom alert system modified for suit Ukraine "would start working in Kyiv soon."[36] This system calculates the time of approach which is then notified to the civilians by a siren which gives a special signal that indicates the amount of time the people have to hide.[36]
Israel–Hamas War 2023
Despite tense relations,[37] when Hamasattacked Israel in October 2023, President Zelenskyy offered condolences for the hundreds of civilian deaths and expressed solidarity with Israelis. Al Arabiya noted that Ukraine had been seeking Israeli air defense expertise to stop Russian missiles.[38] Following the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry condemned attacks on civilians in Gaza, called on all sides to abide by international humanitarian law, and supported a two-state solution to the conflict.[39]
In June 2024, President Zelenskyy stated at the Shangri-La Dialogue that Ukraine recognizes both Israel and Palestine. He called for an end of the conflict in Gaza and emphasized that his country is ready to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza.[40]
Israel's refusal to supply weapons to Ukraine has been criticized by several Israeli politicians from the Liberal wing of the Likud Party who proposed sending Russian-made weapons captured from Hamas and Hezbollah to Ukraine. [41]
Economic relations
In 2012, the bilateral trade turnover between the countries was 1.3 billion dollars, a growth of 49.1% in comparison to 2011. The total export of Ukraine was 922.5 million dollars (796.4 in products and 126.1 in services). The import reached the amount of 364.2 million dollars (266.8 in goods and 97.4 in services). The main exports from Ukraine to Israel in 2012 were: grain (50.6%), non-precious metal (18.2%), aircraft (6.9%), food industry byproducts (5.8%), oil seeds and oleaginous fruits (3.3%), fats and oils of animal or vegetable origin (1.5%), electrical machinery (1.2%), nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery (1.1%). The main Israeli imports to Ukraine in 2012 were: mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation (42.4%), various chemical products (9.0%), plastics (7.0%), goods purchased in ports (5.5%), pharmaceutical products (4.8%), electrical machinery (4.4%), nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery (4.1%), fruits and nuts (3.1%), optical: photographic equipment (2.2%), soap: organic surface-active substances (1.9%), synthetic or artificial (1.7%), vegetables (1.6%), essential oils (1.5%).[42]
Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze with Minister for Regional Cooperation of the State of Israel Tzachi Hanegbi, 2018
Israel Foreign Trade Administration at the Ministry of Economy operates an Economic & Trade Mission in Kyiv. Its main goal is the promotion of trade and export by assisting Israeli industry expanding in the Ukrainian market, supporting individual exporters in marketing activity in Ukraine, attracting investment and expansion of strategic cooperation with Ukraine, improving knowledge of the Ukrainian business of Israeli industry and economy and helping in solving problems arising for Israeli companies operating in Ukraine. The economic attaché in Ukraine is Elizabeth Solovyov.[43] Israel's honorary consul in western Ukraine, Oleg Vyshniakov, established an inter-ministerial committee for Ukrainian-Israeli trade and economic cooperation, as well as an economic business forum, which launched in November 2015 in Kyiv. Leading developers in the fields of Industry and Trade in Ukraine and Israel are taking part of this program.[44]
Ukraine has been Israel's main wheat supplier for many years, accounting for almost half of the country's wheat consumption. As of 2022, Israel imports corn and corn products, barley, rapeseed and soybeans. Agricultural exports to Israel exceed $400 million a year.[45]
Travel and tourism
In July 2010 the foreign ministers of two countries signed an agreement of non visa traffic between Israel and Ukraine.[46] This came into effect on 9 February 2011 and since then Ukrainians and Israelis may enter territory, travel through or stay on Ukraine or Israel without having to obtain visas for 90 days within a period of 180 days.[47] Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated in September 2016 that this visa-free regime had increased tourist flow between two countries tenfold.[48]
Ukraine is an important destination for Jewish tourism, as many Jewish saints are buried there. Each year, on Rosh HaShanah, more than 40,000 Jewish tourists come to the city of Uman, in what is known as the Rosh Hashana kibbutz, this being a large source of revenue for the city.[citation needed]
Ukraine is associated with the Holocaust as the site of Babi Yar. A special tourism program for Jews and Israelis was developed in cooperation with the Lviv Municipality and the District Administration, includes visits to Jewish memorial sites and architecture, operated by Hebrew speaking tourist guides.[50]
Expatriate communities
Ukraine has one of the world's largest Jewish communities; estimates of its size vary widely, from at least 70,000 individuals up to 400,000 individuals.[3]
In 2021, Israeli President Isaac Herzog paid a state visit to Ukraine. During the visit, Herzog, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and the Chief Rabbi of Kyiv Jonathan Markovitch[52][53] attended the inauguration of a memorial to victims of Babyn Yar on the 80th anniversary of the Nazi massacre of 33,000 Jews in a ravine near Kyiv in September 1941.[54]
The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted a nationwide public opinion survey from November 29 to December 9, 2023, to gauge Ukrainian sentiments regarding the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The survey interviewed 1,031 adults from all regions of Ukraine, excluding Crimea and certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Respondents could choose from three options. The survey found that 69% "sympathize more with Israel", 1% "sympathize more with Palestine", and 18% "sympathize with both sides equally". A further 12% found it difficult to express a clear preference. The choice to sympathize with neither was not an option. The survey also analyzed the opinions from a regional perspective, covering the West, Center, South, and East regions of Ukraine.[55]
"Which side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict do you sympathize with more?"
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