Israel giving intelligence support to Ukraine
The objective is to react against Iran-Russia drone cooperation.
Lucas Leiroz, researcher in Social Sciences at the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; geopolitical consultant.
In a recent report, it was revealed that Israel is already actively participating in the Ukrainian conflict. A source from Tel Aviv says that a private Israeli company would be giving to the Ukrainian forces some strategic information about the positions of Russian troops on the battlefield, guaranteeing Kiev an advantage in planning attacks. This type of action appears to have begun or at least intensified, as a response to the growing Iranian-Russian cooperation in the supply of military drones.
On October 12, The York Times published an article in which it is mentioned that Israel is providing “basic intelligence” data to Ukraine. The text is based on information provided by an anonymous senior Israeli government official who was allegedly interviewed by the newspaper.
The data collection service would be operated via satellite by an Israeli intelligence company, which was also not identified by the source. Images received by satellite would be identifying the positions of Russian troops and equipment including Iranian drones which would be allowing Kiev to operate counter-offensive attacks more quickly and successfully. Despite being a private company, there is great cooperation between state and non-state agents in Israel for defense purposes, so it is possible that the government is acting in collusion.
Interestingly, on the same day the article was published, Ukrainian media reported the successful shooting down of fifty suicide drones used by Russian forces, most of them Iranian-made. There is no concrete data by Russian or neutral sources to calculate the exact number of equipment shot down and confirm the veracity of the Ukrainian allegations, however, if there is really a high incidence of drone shooting by Kiev’s forces, the fact may be evidence that the report made by the NYT is accurate.
It is important to note that despite being an absolute ally of NATO and Western forces, Israel has sought to maintain a balanced stance in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, trying to reconcile its geopolitical position with its strategic interests in maintaining pragmatic ties with Moscow. However, the bilateral diplomatic situation may have started a new phase of deterioration since September, when Moscow’s forces began using Iranian suicide drones in the special military operation. Considering that Tehran is a direct enemy of Israel, Russian-Iranian military cooperation appears to be fueling tensions between Moscow and Tel Aviv.
Any improvement that would be occurring in Ukrainian air defense with such data received from Israel seems utterly ineffective in the face of the overwhelming power of the Iranian drones used by the Russians. A considerable part of recent Russian air strikes has been conducted exclusively by Shahed-136 drones, with Moscow’s forces having had great success in neutralizing Ukrainian strategic targets without using manned aircraft. Such is the power of these drones that recently the Ukrainian air defense began using fighter planes to shoot them down. In fact, using fighter jets, whose market value is very high, to shoot down cheap drones does not only sound like a strategic mistake but a truly desperate and irrational act, which makes it evident that Kiev is still suffering serious losses from the Shahed-136.
However, regardless of the actual level of support being given by Israel to Kiev, what really matters is to analyze how Tel Aviv is getting ready to participate in a conflict that will not bring any benefits to it. Supporting Ukraine will simply make the Zionist state an accomplice to a neo-Nazi regime where racist and anti-Semitic practices have become commonplace over the past eight years, which will certainly not please the Israeli population.
In fact, Israel and Ukraine, despite being allies, had their ties criticized by Israeli people at times due to the exponential growth of neo-Nazism in Kiev. Jews have at various occasions promoted massive protests in Israel to demand changes in the country’s foreign policy so that any support for neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic forces would be ended.
Furthermore, escalating tensions with Russia just to harm Iran does not sound interesting in any way. Both countries have very clear conflicts of interest in several regions, mainly in Syria, and a diplomatic deterioration could have significant negative consequences. It is also important to remember that no action by Israel in Ukraine will be able to damage Iran directly, as the practical success of the drones has already met Tehran’s plans and raised the market value and demand for the Shahed-136.
The best Israel can do is to avoid participating in the irresponsible escalation promoted by the West and refuse to support openly neo-Nazi regimes.
