Videos posted to social media Sunday appeared to show several Israelis who are fighting with Ukrainian forces giving thanks to Israel and the Jewish people for supporting their efforts to repel the Russian invasion.
The clips, which circulated widely, showed the men in Ukrainian military uniforms in an unspecified forested area. The video was likely shot over the last week as the fighters thanked Ukraine’s chief rabbi for supplying them with kosher food to celebrate the weeklong Passover holiday, reported Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth.
“We want to give thanks to the people of Israel and the government of Israel for the help they give us. We are here fighting against the Russians in this very difficult war,” said one fighter in Hebrew.
He also thanked the main synagogue in Kyiv and Ukrainian Chief Rabbi Moshe Azman for providing the troops with kosher food and helping them celebrate Passover.
“We, the soldiers of the Ukrainian army who are at the front fighting the Russian invader, want to express our support for the people of Israel who are experiencing severe terror attacks,” a soldier said.
“When Russia started this war against us, you stood with us and so we want to give our thanks for your support and are standing with you at this difficult time,” he said. “We are sure that our countries will be able to defeat the enemy and end the terror.”
There are believed to be hundreds of Ukrainian-born Israelis and several native Israelis who traveled to Ukraine to join volunteer units after the Russian invasion, but the exact numbers are not clear.
The effusive thanks given to Israel in the videos is also unclear, with Ukraine previously repeatedly chastising Israel for its tepid support.
Israel has avoided aligning too closely with either side since Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24. It is one of the few countries that maintains relatively warm relations with both Ukraine, a fellow democracy, and Russia.
