Israel Won't Aid Ukraine; Blocks Arms Transfers From Baltic States

When Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania announced they had received permission to transmit US-made weapons to Ukraine as part of an effort to support Kyiv in the face of a potential Russian invasion, it raised questions about what other systems could be handed over to the Ukrainian government, Arie Egozi reported for Breaking Defense.

Photo Insert: Israeli Defense Forces choppers

Scratch any Israeli-made weaponry from that potential list. Sources in Tel Aviv told Breaking Defense that in December, as Russian forces began massing along the Ukrainian border, the Israeli Ministry of Defense sent word to the three Baltic nations that if they ask to transfer weapons to Ukraine, they will be denied — an almost unheard-of preemptive denial, driven by Israel’s need to balance its relations with Russia.

Like the US, Israel puts strict “end-user” regulations on weapons sold abroad, which legally restrict the ability of the buying nation to send the equipment to a third-party nation without permission from the original producer.

The preemptive move from Israel was driven by a belief that Ukraine would seek to lay hands on the Spike anti-tank weapon, built by a joint firm of Israeli and German companies.

Israel-Ukrainian relations are overshadowed by the Israeli interest in keeping a good channel with the Kremlin, needed to allow Israel to operate in Syria against shipments of Iranian-made weapons systems on their way to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The threading of the needle by Jerusalem was on display during a December visit to Israel by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, which was reportedly kept low-profile at the request of the Israeli government.

A spokesperson for Latvia’s Ministry of Defense said “Latvia is not planning to send to Ukraine any weapons produced by Israel, therefore we cannot comment on this information,” and noted the previous agreement to send US-made equipment.

Lithuania said the issue has not been tackled in recent talks while Estonia did not make any comment.

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