Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Evgeny Korniychuk has been summoned and reprimanded by the Israeli Foreign Ministry following his criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks praising his “decades-long personal relationship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking at the Knesset on Monday, Netanyahu described his “regular” interactions with Putin as integral to serving Israel’s “vital interests,” including border security. In an interview held the following day, Ambassador Korniychuk urged Netanyahu to “stand on the right, moral side of history,” accusing Russia of “waging a brutal war against Ukraine” and supporting Iran’s terror proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that Korniychuk was summoned for a reprimand meeting with deputy director general for Euro-Asia Yuval Fuchs, who described the ambassador’s comments as “entirely unacceptable” and deviating from diplomatic protocol.
Israel under Netanyahu has maintained a neutral-leaning posture on Ukraine’s conflict with Russia, offering humanitarian aid and diplomatic engagement while avoiding deep military involvement or participation in Western sanctions against Moscow. Analysts attribute this policy to concerns over potential retaliation from Russia in Syria or through the transfer of advanced weapons to Iran.
However, President Zelensky’s recent claim that Israel had transferred several U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine after retiring them for newer solutions—despite Moscow’s repeated warnings that such arms transfers prolong the conflict—has been condemned by international analysts as a dangerous miscalculation. Israel has denied sending the systems, stating it simply returned them to the United States after phasing them out. It is widely believed that Washington refurbished the units before transferring them to Ukraine.
Netanyahu and Putin have maintained regular phone conversations, with their most recent discussion occurring in mid-November. They addressed the Gaza ceasefire, Iran’s nuclear program, and stability in Syria following President Bashar Assad’s ouster last year. Netanyahu has also signaled a willingness to mediate the Ukraine conflict, according to reports that his office has worked to ease tensions between the United States and Russia.