This week, the US military transported about 90 Patriot air defense missiles from a warehouse in Israel to Poland to deliver them to Ukraine.
This was reported to Axios by three sources familiar with the operation.
According to the publication, this is the largest arms shipment from Israel to Ukraine since the Russian invasion.
Journalists recalled that in April last year, the Israeli Air Force decommissioned the Patriot system. It had lost its relevance for the country, as it had developed its own air defense systems.
After the IDF announced the decommissioning of the systems, Ukrainian officials approached the US and Israel with the idea: Israel would return these missiles to the US so that they could be repaired and sent to Ukraine.
For months, Israel had been hesitant, fearing that Russia might retaliate, perhaps by supplying advanced weapons to Iran. A Ukrainian official told Axios that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had refused to return his calls about the issue for weeks. But in late September, Netanyahu finally approved the idea.
At the time, Netanyahu wanted to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to get his approval for an annual pilgrimage by Hasidic Israelis to the city of Uman. According to the Ukrainian official, Zelensky did not return his calls until Netanyahu approved the missile deal.
Netanyahuʼs spokesman told Axios that the prime minister does not deny the decommissioning of the Patriot system and its return to the United States and denies any connection between it and the pilgrimage.
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