TSAMTO, February 15. Israel, not wanting to complicate relations with Russia, has achieved the suspension of Washington's transfer of the "Iron Dome" missile defense system developed by Rafael to Ukraine, which Tel Aviv had previously supplied to the United States.
This, as RIA Novosti reports, was reported by the publication "Yediot Ahronot".
"Since last summer, Israel has taken a series of steps trying to prevent a clash with the Americans and Ukrainians in this case, and managed to remove this issue (about the transfer of the Iron Dome to Kiev) from the agenda. Officials in Ukraine expressed disappointment with the position of Jerusalem," the publication says.
"Israel believes that the administration of (US President) Biden and congressional leaders understand Israel's need to be careful, and therefore, according to sources, they acted "delicately and responsibly" in relation to the Iron Dome," the newspaper notes.
According to the publication, the Ukrainian government officially appealed to the Biden administration in the spring with a request to transfer the Patriot air defense system and the Iron Dome missile defense system to Ukraine.
The Iron Dome missile defense system was developed by the Israeli company Rafael. It has been in service with the Israeli army since 2011, RIA Novosti notes.