The Iran conflict and the Russian war against Ukraine appear to be converging more in recent weeks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Washington on July 28 alongside Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. They held separate meetings with US President Donald Trump.
They also met briefly because they were both in the city for the funeral of US Senator Lindsey Graham. The short meeting, in public with many people around them, was not conducive to conducting real diplomacy. However, it might lead to an opening.
Iran has long backed Russia via exporting Shahed drones to Moscow. Moscow has also backed Iran in the past, helping it with nuclear technology and also supporting it diplomatically. While the Iran-Russia partnership was always clear, the countries that suffer their aggression have not always gotten along. Israel and Ukraine have not been working closely in the past.
It is not clear why Jerusalem has had a cold shoulder for Ukraine over the years. One reason in the past was claims that Israel needed deconfliction with Russia in Syria. Russia backed the Syrian Assad regime. Russia intervened in Syria in 2015 and sent more troops and warplanes. Israel was carrying out airstrikes on Iranian entrenchment during the Assad era, an operation called the Campaign Between the Wars.
Once the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, it was clear that Ukraine and Israel had many things in common. However, Jerusalem was cautious about angering Moscow. In those years, the Biden administration was in charge, and Jerusalem also had skepticism about US policy. As such, Israel was hedging. Other countries that are US friends and partners also hedged, such as Saudi Arabia and India.
After October 7, it became less clear why Israel was being so skeptical. Hamas has been hosted in Moscow. Iran backs Russia, and Russia is friends with Iran. Russia and Iran backed the Assad regime. During the Assad era, Hezbollah became massively more powerful. Therefore, there was every reason for Israel and Ukraine to see that they have common foes. However, even in 2023, 2024, and after, there was no real warming in relations.
In fact, relations remained cold. As recently as April 2026, there was controversy about a ship allegedly carrying stolen Ukrainian grain heading for Israel. Ukraine asked Israel to seize the vessel.
Gideon Sa’ar speaks to Ukraine's foreign minister
Now things may be changing. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar posted about a call with his Ukrainian counterpart. “I spoke today with my Ukrainian counterpart, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha,” the Israeli minister noted. “We discussed the challenges facing our nations, including the threat posed by Iran. I expressed my deep sorrow over the heavy losses suffered by the Ukrainian people in the war and wished a full recovery to all those injured and suffering.”
“I invited Minister Sybiha to visit Israel as we mark 35 years of diplomatic relations between our countries. Israel and Ukraine are friends, and I look forward to further deepening our cooperation, including through the establishment of new education centers in Ukrainian hospitals.” Sa’ar added. “I look forward to continuing our close dialogue and strengthening the friendship between our countries.”
Sybiha replied, thanking Sa’ar and saying “invitation accepted.”
“During our call, I informed about Russia’s escalation of terror against civilian vessels and freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and their implications for global food security, including for Israel as an importer," Sybiha noted. "I also updated my counterpart about the preparations for commemorative events dedicated to the 85th tragic anniversary of the Babyn Yar massacre.”
Volodymyr Zelensky was born in 1978 and rose to prominence in Ukraine as an actor and comedian before entering politics. Zelensky entered politics and eventually ran for president in 2019 on an anti-corruption and reform platform. He defeated incumbent Petro Poroshenko with more than 70 percent of the vote.
Zelensky initially sought dialogue with Russia and a resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists had been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014. Russia had also annexed Crimea. However, tensions with Moscow continued. Russia massed forces near Ukraine’s border in 2021 and early 2022 launched an invasion.
While some Western powers evacuated staff from Kyiv in expectation that the capital would fall, Zelensky remained in Kyiv as Russian forces advanced toward the capital. Soon Zelensky was seen as a hero in the West, standing firm against the Russians. Over the last years, the front has stabilized, and Ukraine has become an innovator in defense technology.
Israel, Ukraine share expertise in defense technology
Like Israel, which is also a powerful defense technology country, Ukraine is now helping the West learn lessons about the future of modern war. Western countries are hungry for Israeli and Ukrainian technology.
While many Israeli defense companies and officials have looked to Ukraine for lessons. The official line in Jerusalem has remained cold toward Ukraine. There have been no defense ties or any clear public work on learning from the two wars. However, the wars are increasingly linked. Ukraine struck a ship in the Caspian Sea recently that was apparently transporting military items to Russia. Iran has slammed Ukraine and threatened Kyiv.
Over the years, there was a quiet anti-Ukraine agenda in some Western circles. This tended to be an agenda that flirted with the far-right and far-left. It tapped into social media and influencers. However, things have also changed on this front. An ecosystem in social media that may have once pushed anti-Ukraine messaging and sought to divide Israel and Ukraine has shifted.
The anti-Ukraine agenda that one once saw in some Israeli circles, where Ukraine was accused of being anti-Israel in its UN votes, appears to have diminished. No longer are there voices that seem to think Israel should be working with Moscow or China. Some of this shift has likely occurred also as a result of the fall of Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who was sympathetic to Russia and who also posed as pro-Israel.
What may happen next? If Israel and Ukraine can grow closer, this will help the US and Western allies. The US increasingly sees Ukraine as a winner. The Trump administration appears increasingly supportive of Ukraine because Kyiv has shown it can fight alone and win against the Russians, carrying out deep strikes inside Russia. Ukraine doesn’t need America to fight for it, and this meshes well with President Trump’s doctrine and agenda.
There is a likelihood that lessons from Ukraine will be felt in the US defense industry and that Ukrainian defense technology will influence US and European defense investment decisions. Israel doesn’t want to get left behind or seen as the odd-man-out in this scenario. Israeli defense companies already have close ties with US defense companies. As such, with Ukraine part of the story, there could be momentum towards cooperation on different levels.
It remains to be seen what may happen. Zelensky’s ability to navigate Ukraine through the last several years has been impressive. Israel has also faced a difficult multi-front war. Both countries have seen civilians attacked by Iranian drones. Both Russia and the Iranian-backed axis of proxies have attacked civilians.
After years of war, these two wars that now symbolize the early 21st century may be trending together, with the West seeing them as linked in the struggle for the world order.