Mikhail Brodsky says West Jerusalem has provided military aid without public acknowledgment
Patriot missile batteries near Gadera, Israel on January 7, 2003. © David Silverman / Getty Images
Israel has quietly transferred US-made Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, Israeli Ambassador to Kiev Mikhail Brodsky has revealed. The country previously insisted that it was only providing humanitarian assistance.
“The Patriot systems we once received from the United States are now in Ukraine,” Brodsky said in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Marichka Dovbenko published on Sunday.
“These were Israeli systems deployed in the early 1990s. We agreed to transfer them. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been widely discussed. But when people say that Israel hasn’t helped militarily – that’s simply not true.”
Asked about reports that Israel has been sending military equipment to Ukraine via third countries, Brodsky described it as “a sensitive issue” that should not be discussed publicly.
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West Jerusalem previously claimed that it was only delivering humanitarian aid to Ukraine, reportedly out of concern over provoking Russia, which maintains a naval facility and an airbase in neighboring Syria. Israel has stressed that it seeks to maintain good relations with both Ukraine and Russia.
Axios reported in January that the US transferred around 90 Patriot missiles from Israel to Poland for delivery to Ukraine. The New York Times later said Kiev would receive a full Patriot system previously stationed in Israel. According to the Times of Israel, eight systems were retired from service in 2024.
Russia’s envoy to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, warned last year that any Israeli decision to transfer Patriots to Ukraine would carry “political consequences.” Moscow has argued that foreign arms shipments only escalate the conflict and will not prevent Russia from achieving its objectives. The Kremlin has listed a halt in Western weapons deliveries as a precondition for a ceasefire.