Leaked Pentagon documents reveal Israel could be pressured to provide ‘lethal aid’ to Ukraine, according to US media
United States media outlets, including CNN and The New York Times, published articles stating that Israel could be pressured to supply Ukraine with “lethal aid” against Russia.
The articles cited a leaked Pentagon document entitled, “Israel: Pathways to Providing Lethal Aid to Ukraine,” which The Times described as an “exploratory analysis.” The report postulated that Israel will “likely will consider providing lethal aid under increased U.S. pressure or a perceived degradation” in its relationship with Russia.
According to The Times, the U.S. would like to see Israel supply Ukraine with military aid that includes surface-to-air and anti-tank guided missiles.
The leaked Pentagon document reportedly depicts four ways Israel could supply Ukraine with military aid, including one called the “Turkish model" and deemed to be the most “plausible.” According to that model, Israel would use a third party to sell its missile defense systems to Ukraine. At the same time, Israel would publicly offer to mediate and call for a negotiated and peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Israel, thus far, has refused to supply Ukraine with military aid, despite repeated Ukrainian demands, especially for air defense missiles. One purported reason for Israel’s denials is that the Jewish state needs to maintain a good relationship with Russia in order to continue its operations against Iranian targets in Syria, where Russian forces operate and control the airspace.
In February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian-Israeli relations were improving and he hoped that Israel would provide military aid to his war-torn country.
This is the second time in the last few days that leading U.S. media outlets published stories citing alleged leaked U.S. intelligence about Israel.
The first claimed that Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, encouraged and prompted Israelis to protest against Israel's proposed judicial reforms. The story was rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office as “completely false and absurd.”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
