On a train crossing from the Polish border into Ukraine, Hasidic pilgrims fill the carriages: men in black coats and wide-brimmed hats. Thirty thousand to 40,000 Hasidic Jews converge each Rosh Hashanah in Uman, undeterred by air raid sirens, to pray at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.
But all is not well in the Ukraine-Israel relationship.
The latest rift came when a Russian cargo vessel arrived in Haifa Bay in late April 2026 carrying what Ukrainian officials described as thousands of tons of wheat and barley stripped from Russian-occupied territories. Under mounting pressure from Kyiv and threats of European Union sanctions, Israel’s Grain Importers Association ultimately directed the ship away from port, though the episode served as the latest row in a relationship that has shifted over the four years since Russia re-invaded Ukraine. Another cargo ship was recently allowed to dock and offload its Ukrainian-occupied-territory cargo despite Ukrainian protests.
Israel has tried to keep a careful balance in the war between Russia and Ukraine. In the early phase, Israeli intelligence reportedly shared information on Iranian-made Shahed drones that Russia deployed against Ukrainian cities, enabling Ukrainian forces to develop countermeasures. Israel provided howitzer ammunition and sold technology to Kyiv that contributed to the interception of the drones. In late 2024 and into 2025, Israel reportedly moved dozens of Patriot air defense interceptors to Ukraine. These were valuable contributions, even as Jerusalem refused to transfer Iron Dome technology.
Israel had spent years avoiding an open confrontation with Russia, calculating that keeping closer relations with Moscow offered leverage against the Iran threat. The logic slightly shifted with each American administration: former President Joe Biden pressed Israel toward Ukraine, while President Donald Trump’s warmer posture toward Moscow gave Jerusalem greater latitude to pursue its own approach. Israel reportedly lobbied Washington to allow Russia to retain its military bases in Syria, seeing Russian presence as a counterweight to Turkish influence in the region.
Additionally, Russia remains a major supplier of crude oil and fuel, and Moscow allegedly coordinated with the Israeli military to evacuate Russian personnel from Iranian nuclear sites in advance of Israeli strikes. Still, the Moscow-Tehran axis has deepened despite Israeli restraint. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov’s 2022 claim that Adolf Hitler carried Jewish blood further illustrated how little Israeli goodwill actually garnered reciprocity from Moscow.
When the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, Ukraine sided publicly with Jerusalem and Washington, describing Russia and Iran as “brothers in hatred.” Reports that Russia had provided Iran with targeting coordinates for American troops underscored Kyiv’s argument. Israel had observed that partnership deepening for years and had largely chosen to turn a blind eye to it.
TRUMP WEIGHING PULLING TROOPS FROM ITALY AND SPAIN OVER UNWILLINGNESS TO HELP WITH IRAN
What Israel has been slower to reckon with is that a Russia actively working to weaken the U.S. is also, by extension, working to erode the foundation of Israel’s most critical strategic relationship.
One upon which its security depends.