The Ukrainian leader was expected to visit Israel as soon as next week, Channel 12 reported on Friday, claiming the plans were already at an “advanced stage.”
A planned trip to Israel by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky later this month may be canceled after Israel’s Channel 12 news was tipped off about the visit, an unnamed Ukrainian diplomat told the Times of Israel on Sunday.
“He wanted the trip to be public when he stepped on Israeli soil,” the official told the news outlet, adding that Zelensky was “very disappointed.”
The Ukrainian leader was expected to visit Israel as soon as next week, Channel 12 reported on Friday, claiming the plans were already at an “advanced stage.”
The visit was supposed to represent “something of a united front of Israel, Ukraine, Europe, and the US against the Russia-Iran axis.”
This would culminate in a photo Zelensky would take with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog to “send a message of the enlightened world under attack, standing against the less-enlightened world, attacking,” according to the network.
Zelensky’s previous attempt to visit Israel last month, a few days following Hamas’ attack on October 7, was apparently rebuffed, with Netanyahu allegedly responding, “Now is not the time,” to an official request from Kyiv.
While Ukrainian government sources told the media that the trip was intended to “boost international support for Israel’s counteroffensive against Hamas,” Zelensky has struggled to hold onto the international attention – and financial support – his country enjoyed before Israel launched its war on Gaza.
Zelensky has previously criticized Israel for what he argued was lackluster support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, complaining to Netanyahu that Kyiv “expect[ed] more” from its ally – including the Iron Dome missile system and other high-end technology, which Israel had refused to share.
While the Pentagon reassured journalists last month that the US had enough weapons, equipment, and ammunition for both Ukraine and Israel, one of its main programs funding arms deliveries to Kyiv ran out of money last week.
Last week, Time magazine reported that Zelensky felt “betrayed by his Western allies.”
(RT, PC)
