Israel’s foreign minister arrived in Kyiv on Thursday morning. The visit by Eli Cohen is the first visit by a high-level Israeli official since Russia launched its war against Ukraine. Cohen is scheduled to be present for the reopening of Israel’s embassy in Kyiv, which was closed as the start of the Russian invasion nearly a year ago. He also is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and members of the Jewish community.
Israel has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict, and reportedly also has provided some intelligence information. Cohen’s visit comes as Ukraine continues to press Israel for defensive weapons, including Iron Dome missile defense systems.
Cohen started his visit with a visit to the Kyiv suburb of Bucha and to Babyn Yar, where Nazis and their Ukrainian collaborators murdered over 30,000 Jews by shooting then into a ravine in September 1941. He arrived in Ukraine via Poland from a one-day visit to Turkey.