Ukraine Outraged by 'Double Standards' and Unlimited US Support for Israel – Politico

Ukraine is outraged by the “double standards” and unlimited support for Israel from the United States, – Politico Vladislav Kravtsov

Kiev is outraged that the US is helping to shoot down Israeli missiles, but not Ukraine/Collage 24 Channel

The United States deployed advanced air defense systems and dozens of troops to protect Israel from the massive missile attack carried out by Iran on October 1. Ukraine is outraged that it does not have the same level of support from its American partners.

This is stated in the material of the Politico publication. In Kyiv, they called such US policy “double standards”.

Why the Americans do not shoot down Russian missiles in the skies over Ukraine

Journalists noted that when American and British air defense systems and fighter jets helped shoot down hundreds of Iranian missiles on October 1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called on allies “to protect Ukrainian airspace with the same determination and without hesitation from Russian missile and drone attacks.” They noted that human life is equally valuable in any part of the world.

At the same time, the material indicates that the reason why the US acts boldly in Israel and cautiously in Ukraine is clear. After all, Russia is armed with nuclear weapons, but Iran is not.

The tough answer, which Ukrainians may not like to hear but is unfortunately true, is that we can risk shooting down Iranian missiles over Israel without provoking a direct war with Tehran that could lead to nuclear war. There is a much greater risk doing the same with Russian missiles, said a senior Senate aide working on Ukraine.

Two Biden administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed the same view.

The authors noted that sending American troops to Ukraine to shoot down Russian missiles could “provoke a direct military clash between the world's two leading nuclear powers” amid “the largest war in Europe since World War II.” While in the Middle East, the US can shoot down missiles over Israel without provoking a war with a nuclear adversary.

The article also says that Iran has improved nuclear material to levels close to weapons grade, but “was not trying to create an atomic bomb.”

How allies are now helping Ukraine repel attacks

Acting Chief of Communications of the Ukrainian Air Force Command Yuriy Ignat said that partners are now transmitting data to the Ukrainians on the movement of Russian bombers to firing positions.

Having received the warning, thousands of reconnaissance, communications and mobile air defense units begin to act. Ukrainian pilots are also becoming active in case of very large attacks.

The article also says that Kyiv wants Poland and Romania to actively shoot down enemy targets both in their own airspace and over Western Ukraine. Kyiv and Warsaw agreed to discuss this possibility in a recent mutual security agreement, but so far Poland has not changed its policy.

Warsaw has made it clear that it will not act without the full support of the entire NATO alliance, and Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz has said that such support is lacking, including from Washington.

While Kyiv is eager for its allies to act in the same way as they do with Israel, two Ukrainian air defense officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that this would be easier to do over Israel than over Ukraine.

Israel is a small country, meaning the U.S. could use its ship-based air defense systems. Meanwhile, Ukraine is huge and inaccessible to Western naval forces: its allies would need to deploy air defenses on the country's western border, from which they could only defend neighboring territory, the article says.

NATO countries might also have to fly fighter jets over Ukraine, which could lead to direct clashes with Russia – something the White House is trying to avoid.

At the same time, journalists are convinced that the West's overly cautious policy toward Russia sends a signal to the world that nuclear states “enjoy the honor denied to normal countries.” And this increases the risk that countries like Iran will decide to use nuclear weapons, destroying the non-proliferation regime, which is aimed at limiting the number of nuclear states.