Israel will not send weapons to Ukraine, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Wednesday, two days after Russia warned that an Israeli move to bolster Kyiv's forces would severely damage relations.
"Our policy vis-a-vis Ukraine will not change -- we will continue to support and stand with the West, we will not provide weapon systems," Gantz told a briefing of European Union ambassadors, according to a statement from his office.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, has on several occasions blasted Israel for failing to firmly oppose Russian aggression.
The Israeli position has however evolved over recent months, from near neutrality to more forceful condemnations of Russia.
Gantz said Wednesday that Israel would continue providing "humanitarian aid" to Ukraine, including "life-saving defensive equipment" and was likely to approve "an additional package" soon.
But weapons supplies were off the table, "due to a variety of operational considerations," the defense minister added, The Associated Press reported.
On Monday, Russia's former leader Dmitry Medvedev charged that "Israel appears to be getting ready to supply weapons to the Kyiv regime."
"A very reckless move. It would destroy all bilateral relations between our countries," the former president and prime minister, who is now deputy head of the Russian Security Council, said in a statement on Telegram.
