Israeli Foreign Minister arrives in Kiev on the first visit of a senior Israeli official since the start of the war

The Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen arrived in Kiev on Thursday for the first visit by an Israeli minister to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion nearly a year ago, his office said.

“We’ve stood by the Ukrainian people and Ukraine over the past year,” Cohen said upon his arrival in the Ukrainian capital, according to a statement issued by his ministry.

Cohen is scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

“On Thursday, we will raise the Israeli flag at the Israeli embassy in Kiev, which will resume its activities continuously with the aim of strengthening relations between the two countries,” Cohen added.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 2022, Israel has sought to remain neutral in this conflict, especially due to the deployment of the Russian army in neighboring Syria.

Israel, which has privileged relations with Moscow and includes more than a million people who are descendants of the former Soviet Union, didn’t supply weapons to Kiev despite repeated requests from Zelensky.

In early February, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he was considering providing military aid to Ukraine, offering himself as a mediator in the conflict.