Things are simmering between Iran and Israel. In the war, Ukraine looks enviously at Israel. Their air defense defies the attacks - with the help of the USA.
KYIV - As Iran fired hundreds of deadly missiles and drones into Israel last weekend, the Israelis relied on a crucial tool that Ukraine still doesn't have: direct support from the United States and its partners.
For more than two years, Ukraine has faced Russian missile and drone attacks, often including Iranian Shahed drones like those used by Tehran on Saturday. As a shield, Ukraine relies on a smorgasbord of air defense systems provided by Western partners, including three American-built Patriot batteries manned by Ukrainian troops. This month the largest power plant supplying Kiev was destroyed. Civilian casualties are not uncommon.
Defense against Iran attack: Ukraine is watching NATO's help like a hawk
As weapons fired from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen moved toward their targets in Israel this weekend, U.S. forces prepared to respond with fighter jets, a Patriot battery in Iraq and U.S. destroyer ships. Great Britain, France and Jordan have also pledged their support. Together with the Israeli Iron Dome air defense system, they were able to shoot down 99 percent of the approximately 300 rockets and drones, thus preventing major damage. The discrepancy in reaction has not been lost on observers in Ukraine.
Last week alone, Russia fired nearly 130 Shahed drones, 80 missiles and 700 guided air bombs into Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky made the announcement in his evening speech on Sunday. Ukraine relied on its own troops and dwindling ammunition supplies. However, the immediate international response to the Iranian attack on Israel proved that modern air defense could save lives and that such defense was possible.
“The whole world has seen that Israel is not alone in this defense - the threat in the sky has also been eliminated by its allies,” Zelensky said. "And when Ukraine says its allies shouldn't turn a blind eye to Russian missiles and drones, that means action is needed - and bold." "It's not the rhetoric that protects the skies, it's not the opinions that curb the production of missiles and drones for terror,” he added.
With a $60 billion aid package stalled in Congress, Ukraine is desperately running out of ammunition and other supplies it needs to defend itself against airstrikes. Like Zelensky, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also pointed to partners' direct help to Israel: "Even if you can't act like you did in Israel, give us what we need and we will do the rest of the work."
Fear of nuclear war: USA and NATO do not want direct interference in Ukraine
Fearing that a direct conflict with Russia could escalate into a nuclear war, the United States and other NATO countries have repeatedly rejected the idea of direct troop involvement in Ukraine. When French President Emmanuel Macron recently said that sending soldiers should not be ruled out, other Western leaders quickly described the proposal as dangerous.
Ukrainian officials say they need 26 Patriot systems, each costing more than $1 billion, to cover the entire country. Kuleba had recently increased the pressure on Ukrainian supporters to ensure that they tried to procure these systems. So far only Germany has agreed to send another Patriot system to Ukraine.
Some Ukrainians expressed hope that the largely foiled attack on Israel would spur action in the U.S. Congress, where aid to Ukraine could be tied to continued support for Israel. Further financial aid has been blocked there for weeks by the Republicans led by US presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Weapons aid like in the Middle East: Ukraine wants more involvement from the West in the fight against Russia
But Ukrainian officials weren't the only ones drawing comparisons to the Middle East. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski praised Israel for repelling the attack in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “Now it would make sense to strengthen Israel’s missile defense and equip Ukraine with similar systems,” Sikorski wrote. “The easiest way is to unlock the aid package for Ukraine and Israel.”
In a new report Monday, the Institute for the Study of War noted that Israel's successful defense against Iran's attack "underscores the vulnerabilities that Ukrainian geography and the continued deterioration of Ukraine's air defense umbrella pose to Ukrainian efforts to counter regular Russian missile and missile attacks." represent drone attacks.”
Ukraine's geographical proximity to Russia also poses a challenge, as missiles and drones often travel only short distances to reach their targets, leaving Ukraine only minutes to respond. By comparison, Israel and its partners had several hours to prepare for the weekend's attacks, according to the ISW report.
“We can only count on ourselves”: Ukraine feels isolated in the war against Russia
In Ukraine, the disadvantage was described even more bluntly by others. The famous Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko wrote on Facebook that Israel is dealing with an opponent “before whom the West does not fall on its back in dog-like humility.” Israel also had a neighbor in Jordan who helped stop the attacks. “We have none of this,” she wrote.
Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Osadchuk wrote on Facebook that "if the air force of NATO countries suddenly wants to shoot down Iranian drones in Israel's skies more effectively, they can train in Ukraine for free." Others said Israel's multinational defense shows that Ukraine is isolating be.
“What conclusion should Ukraine draw from this? We can only count on ourselves,” Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko wrote on Telegram. Iran said the attack on Israel was in self-defense. “Have we heard this before?” he wrote, referring to Russia’s excuses for invading Ukraine.
“Disgusting double standards”: Russia reacts to Middle East war between Israel and Iran
Russia also responded to the Iranian attacks by calling for restraint. “The situation in the Middle East is as heated as it can be, and the conflict threatens to escalate into a confrontation across the region,” Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya told the Security Council on Monday. “The spiral of confrontation and bloodshed must be stopped.”
Regarding the Iranian attacks on Sunday morning, Nebenzya recalled the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which preceded the Iranian attack on Israel. Nebenzya criticized some Security Council members for their hesitation to unequivocally condemn the Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital. “The parade of hypocrisy and double standards unfolding in the Security Council today is so disgusting,” he said, referring to the West's willingness to criticize Iran but not Israel.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky, said Israel's successful defense demonstrated the need for a "compelling heavy-handed response" to such attacks. “Answer or die!” – this should be the unequivocal rule against those who seek to destroy global stability,” Podoljak wrote on X.
By Siobhán O'Grady and Kostiantyn Khudov. Natalia Abbakumova in Riga, Latvia contributed to this report.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on April 15, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com” - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.