Israel summons Ukrainian ambassador over criticism of Tel Aviv's foreign policy

Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Kornichuk has been summoned by the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry for a meeting on July 3 over his recent criticism of Israeli policies, the Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed on June 26 morning.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the meeting will be held with Aliza Bin-Noun, the Head of the Strategic Affairs Directorate, and follows recent exchanges on the matter between Jerusalem and Kyiv.

The Ukrainian embassy in Israel accused the country of “close cooperation” with Russia in a statement published on June 25.

According to the embassy, the signs of Israel's pro-Russian position were almost no humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, several controversial interviews by the country’s Prime Minister Netanyahu, and recent “two rounds of high-level political negotiations with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

“There may be progress on humanitarian issues, but you can’t win a war with bandages and antibiotics. We have to have the ability to save people’s lives,” Kornichuk said, The Jerusalem Post reported.

In addition, the Ukrainian Embassy criticized the establishment of another Russian diplomatic mission in Jerusalem, which was called a "Big achievement.”

Earlier, Netanyahu said  in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that it is important for Israel to “continue coordination with Russia to strike Iranian targets in Syria.”

The Israeli PM also added that Israel has “concerns that any systems that we give to Ukraine would be used against us because they could fall into Iranian hands and be used against us.”