Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday asked Israel and other U.S. allies to provide more aid to Ukraine during a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in Tel Aviv.
Israel has condemned Russia's invasion into Ukraine and provided humanitarian aid to Kyiv but is hesitant about providing military aid. Israel needs cooperation from Russia with its air force's efforts to attack Iranian targets in Syria. Russia has been supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's militarily during his country's more than decade-old civil war.
During a news conference at Ben Gurion Airport with Gallant, Austin praised Israel's effort of providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine but said he's asking all of the United States' allies to provide more at a crucial junction in the nearly 13-month-old war.
"Israel has been providing helpful humanitarian support for Ukraine and I'm also grateful for Israel's participation in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group that I convene," Austin said, according to a transcript of the news conference. "Yet, we're also calling on all of our allies and partners to step up now at this hinge moment in history.
"Nations of goodwill, and especially our fellow democracies, must all urgently do their part to help Ukraine fight for its freedom. And we must all come together to resist [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's grim vision of a world where autocrats get to decide which countries can be snuffed out. "
Gallant was asked by a reporter, "What will it take for Israel to provide military aid, even if it's defensive in nature?"
"We are doing our best efforts in coordination with the United States to help the Ukraine government to protect its people and we are doing it under the understanding of what are the Israeli interests in the region," he said.
In an interview with CNN in February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "I'm certainly looking into it" regarding military aid to Ukraine. He said Israel is also acting to thwart the production of Iranian weapons that can be sent to Russia to use against Ukraine.
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