They are divided in Ukraine. On the one hand, it is positive that Israel is carrying out extensive attacks against Iran.
Iran is one of Russia's closest allies and has, among other things, supplied weapons and drones en masse to the country's war against Ukraine.
On the other hand, there is concern that the escalating conflict in the Middle East between Iran and Israel, two old arch-enemies, is stealing global attention, so that Ukraine's need for help from the West is forgotten. Anonymous Ukrainian officials told AFP.
At the same time, Ukrainians are concerned that the conflict is pushing up oil prices. Oil is a crucial source of income for Russia to finance the war against Ukraine.
- For Ukraine, the challenge is the price of oil. If prices remain high for a long time, the Russians will earn more, a senior Ukrainian political source told AFP.
Israel began attacking Iran on Friday last week, which promptly retaliated. The international fear is that the conflict will escalate and spread in the already troubled region.
Several senior Iranian military personnel have been reported killed in the attacks, which are straining Iran's military capacity. This likely places a limit on how much Iran can support Russia. Israel claims to have attacked several weapons production sites in Iran. In addition, Iran attacks Israel with missiles, which therefore cannot be sent to Russia.
- The Iranian regime is Russia's ally. The more they lose, the better.
- Overall, Israel is doing the whole world a favor. That is a fact, says a Ukrainian source.
However, the risk of even less support and attention from the United States, Israel's main ally, is frowned upon in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has made it clear that its security priorities lie in the Middle East and Asia. Europe is further down the list.
This increases the risk that Russian advances on the battlefield or deadly air strikes will be met with silence from the White House, which already sees the war in Ukraine above all as Europe's problem.
Ukraine is trying to curry favor with the United States for more support. But this has been challenged by the fact that relations between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are tense. Zelensky recently acknowledged that the conflict between Iran and Israel carries risks for Ukraine.
- No one claims that we have a more important relationship than America and Israel. But we would like to see support for Ukraine not decline because of that, he said.
He pointed out that Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip has had just that consequence. When the war broke out in Gaza in October 2023, a year and a half after the war in Ukraine began, it made Ukraine focus more on ramping up its own weapons production. This is what officials from Zelenskyy's office say.
He said earlier this month that the United States may decide to send thousands of missiles to the Middle East instead of to Ukraine, which needs them to shoot down Russian drones. Russia has been sending drones and missiles, including Iranian-made ones, en masse to Ukraine since the war began.
- Let's hope the production or shipment of weapons to Russia will decline. It will help Ukraine, says Zelensky.
The British Ministry of Defense points out in new intelligence that Iran's arms shipments to Russia may fall due to Iran's conflict with Israel. However, it also points out that the global focus on the Middle East will help Russia.
- Russia almost certainly benefits from the conflict because it distracts international attention from its war in Ukraine.
/ritzau/AFP
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