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Israel Asserts No Change Policy on Ukrainian War Following US Warnings

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (File photo: Reuters)
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (File photo: Reuters)
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Israel Asserts No Change Policy on Ukrainian War Following US Warnings

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (File photo: Reuters)
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (File photo: Reuters)

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen discussed bilateral relations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and regional and international issues, including the war in Ukraine.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Lavrov called Cohen to congratulate him on his new role.

Cohen referred extensively to the Jewish community in Russia and former Soviet immigrants in Israel and their importance to relations between the countries.

For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Lavrov congratulated his Israeli counterpart on his post and expressed his readiness to work to strengthen cooperation between Russia and Israel.

It stated that the Palestinian-Israeli settlement was discussed during the phone call, adding that Lavrov reiterated Russia's willingness to be involved in the peace process with Palestine based on international law.

In a briefing to Israeli media, a senior Israeli official confirmed that Cohen and Lavrov discussed the Russian war in Ukraine.

Cohen conveyed to his Russian counterpart a message from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, stressing that there was "no change in Israeli policy" in this regard.

The Israeli minister stressed that Israel's aid to Ukraine would continue, noting that while additional details of Israel's policy on the matter were still being crafted, "one thing for certain is that we will talk less about it in public."

He added that the ministry would prepare a detailed memorandum that would constitute a basis for researching the cabinet for political and security affairs to formulate a responsible policy.

After these statements, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one Israel's strongest supporters in US Congress, slammed Cohen.

Graham tweeted that the new Israeli foreign minister prioritized the US-Israel strategic relationship and supported continued humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

"However, the idea that Israel should speak less about Russia's criminal invasion of Ukraine is a bit unnerving. I hope Mr. Cohen understands that when he speaks to Russia's Lavrov, he's speaking to a representative of a war criminal regime that commits war crimes on an industrial scale daily."

A senior Israeli political official said that Cohen briefed Blinken about the conversation that would take place with Lavrov.

Blinken requested that Cohen convey US messages to Lavrov.

According to the Ynet website, Graham's statements constitute a blow to Cohen and that there was a consensus between Republicans and Democrats on the Russian issue.

If Israeli policy changes to a more supportive approach to Russia, it could damage Jerusalem's standing in Washington.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett refrained from condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, the head of the interim government, Yair Lapid, approached the US position more and did not contact any Russian official. Netanyahu likely intends to return to a position closer to Russia.

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Millions of Children to Suffer from Trump Aid Cuts

Afghan children receive food aid from a local charity in Mazar-i-Sharif on March 2, 2025. Atif Aryan / AFP/File
Afghan children receive food aid from a local charity in Mazar-i-Sharif on March 2, 2025. Atif Aryan / AFP/File
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Millions of Children to Suffer from Trump Aid Cuts

Afghan children receive food aid from a local charity in Mazar-i-Sharif on March 2, 2025. Atif Aryan / AFP/File
Afghan children receive food aid from a local charity in Mazar-i-Sharif on March 2, 2025. Atif Aryan / AFP/File

When he grows up, five-year-old Ahmad wants to be "stronger than Spider-Man".
But his dream clashes with a harsh reality -- the Jordanian boy has a serious disability, and major US aid cuts mean he will likely miss out on vital care.
Like him, millions of children around the world are suffering from the sweeping cuts ordered by US President Donald Trump.
All are grappling with hardship in one form or other: war, crime, global warming, poverty, disease and more.
Ahmad, who has a spinal malformation, cannot hold his torso upright and is paralyzed from the waist down.
The boy was receiving physiotherapy sessions from Handicap International "to strengthen his upper limbs and enable him, later on, to walk with crutches," said his father, Mahmud Abdulrahman, a 30-year-old day laborer.
Abdulrahman said the non-governmental organization was also due to provide orthotics and prosthetics to straighten Ahmad's lower limbs -- none of which he could afford on his meagre salary.
Now, none of that will happen.
The Wehdat Rehabilitation Center they attended in Jordan's capital Amman was one of the first victims of Trump's aid cuts.
More than 600 patients found themselves deprived of care overnight.
Prosthetics already specially designed for around 30 children, as well as wheelchairs, could not be delivered to them, on Washington's orders.
"The movement that was taught will be forgotten," said Dr Abdullah Hmoud, a physiotherapist who worked at the center, describing the potential losses as "catastrophic".
There is also emotional suffering.
When he realized he would no longer see his physiotherapist, "Ahmad stopped eating for three days. He didn't want to get up," said his father.
With the closure of his rehabilitation center, "I feel like they want to kill me," the boy said in a hushed voice.
Global fallout
Ahmad's story is one among many in a wave of horror accounts surfacing from the humanitarian sector since the United States said it was cutting 83 percent of its aid.
USAID -- which the Trump administration has dismantled -- had supported 42 percent of all aid distributed globally, with a $42.8 billion budget.
At a refugee camp in Bangladesh, home to a million Rohingya Muslims who fled persecution in Myanmar, half of them children, Save the Children has been forced to ration food.
The NGO fears desperate families could be pushed to hand over daughters to traffickers or send sons on dangerous sea crossings to Malaysia for work.
In Mozambique, Solidarites International had to shut down a program providing food and water to internally displaced people, including tens of thousands of children.
In Malawi, similar numbers will no longer receive free school meals, according to another NGO which requested anonymity for fear of US reprisals.
Without food, many children will drop out of school -- all the more galling, the NGO said, as millions of meals are reportedly left to rot in warehouses due to the US decision.
"It's like the rug is being pulled out from under their feet," said one staff member.
'Last lifelines'
Women and girls are often the first to lose out, with their education traditionally sacrificed first.
The Norwegian Refugee Council said it will have to "significantly reduce" aid to women and girls in Afghanistan because the US funds paid for many of the female staff who worked with them.
"The very last lifelines for many women and girls will be taken away," said Camilla Waszink, a director at the organization.
Malnutrition already affects 150 million children under five, and the numbers could surge.
"Millions of additional children will suffer stunted growth" and impaired brain capacity, said Kevin Goldberg, director of Solidarites International.
In another blow to children, Washington is expected to drastically reduce funding for vaccination programs in poor countries.
Sania Nishtar, CEO of the Vaccine Alliance, warned the cuts -- if confirmed -- could result in "an estimated 1.3 million children dying from vaccine-preventable diseases".