Kiev Regime Tried (And Failed) to Shake Down Israel for Weapons in Exchange for UN Vote – Report

The public admission that Ukrainian officials see their UN votes as little more than leverage to extract concessions from their counterparts suggests an unprincipled and highly transactional understanding of global politics.

The Ukrainian regime refused to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution calling on the International Court of Justice to weigh in on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined to provide them with weapons in return, a new report says.

“A Ukrainian official said [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky told Netanyahu that in return for voting against or abstaining he wants to hear how the new Israeli government is going to change its policy” and provide the Ukrainian regime with weapons, an Israeli reporter wrote Saturday on Twitter.

5 \ A Ukrainian official said Zelensky told Netanyahu that in return for voting against or abstaining he wants to hear how the new Israeli government is going to change its policy and provide Ukraine with defensive systems against Russian missile and drone attacks

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) December 31, 2022

According to the journalist, the Ukrainian source said Netanyahu refused to capitulate but said he would be “ready to discuss Zelensky’s requests in the future.”

In October, Kiev sent Tel Aviv an official request for “Iron Beam, Barak-8, Patriot, Iron Dome, David's Sling, Arrow Interceptor” weapons systems, as well as “Israeli support in training for Ukrainian operators.” But Israel has declined repeated requests from the Ukrainian regime for Israeli arms.

“Zelensky didn’t like Netanyahu's answer and didn’t agree to vote against the resolution or abstain,” the reporter wrote.

The discussion between the heads of state took place as Netanyahu made a round of last-minute phone calls on Friday night in an effort to drum up diplomatic support for the Israelis ahead of the UN vote, which ultimately passed 87-24 with 53 countries abstaining.

Under the terms of the resolution – which was opposed by Washington but supported by Russia, China, and nearly every Arab state – the World Court is set to issue an advisory position on the legal impacts of Israel’s “occupation, settlement and annexation … including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures.”

At a UN committee vote earlier this month, Ukrainian officials voted in favor of the measure, in what they privately painted as an effort to signal their displeasure with Israel’s relative neutrality amid NATO’s ongoing proxy war against Russia.

During the final vote on Friday, the Ukrainian delegation was nowhere to be found. “Zelensky decided that we will not attend the vote in order to give a chance to the relationship with Netanyahu,” an official reportedly claimed.