Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk said on February 20 that the Hawk anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) decommissioned in Israel would not be handed over to Kyiv.

He noted that these systems were decommissioned 10 years ago. The military attache inspected the air defense systems and confirmed that they were in poor condition.

“They are really 60s and they were just written off. This is not some kind of malicious intent, this is a question of the inappropriateness of transferring rubbish that does not work, ”he said on the air of the United News national telethon.

Previous edition Axios reported that the United States asked Israel to send decommissioned Hawk air defense systems to Ukraine.

At the same time, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on February 16 that at a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he promised him to expand support for Kyiv and participate in the reconstruction of the country.

In early February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the country would consider supplying a package of military equipment to Kyiv. At the same time, he indicated that he did not want to enter into a military confrontation with Russia.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kiev against the backdrop of Russia’s special operation to protect Donbass, the decision on which was made against the backdrop of aggravation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.

For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.