What can Israel learn from Ukraine amid Iranian threat? | On The Record

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Israel and Ukraine share a critical strategic bond rooted in their common adversary, Iran, which has significantly shaped their diplomatic and military cooperation. This shared enmity has led to tangible collaborative efforts, most notably the Ukrainian government's decision to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization. This move was pivotal not only for Ukraine but also served as a catalyst for European nations, who view Kyiv's stance with high regard and may follow suit in their own counter-terrorism measures. Furthermore, both countries actively coordinate within international organizations to limit Iranian influence on the Middle East and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, demonstrating how a unified front against a specific threat can strengthen geopolitical alliances even between nations with different primary security concerns. A central lesson Israel has drawn from Ukraine's experience is the profound capability to withstand and ultimately defeat a superior enemy through resilience and adaptation. While both nations are currently engaged in active warfare and developing their own military technologies, they operate on parallel tracks that foster synergy rather than direct dependency. The most significant practical knowledge transfer involves countering Iranian drone threats, an area where Ukraine has accumulated vast experience due to its prolonged exposure to both Russian and Iranian unmanned aerial systems. Although Ukraine faces challenges with ballistic and cruise missiles due to limited air defense capabilities, it has developed highly efficient systems specifically for intercepting drones, offering a model of operational success that Israel is actively studying and integrating into its own defensive strategies. The impact of this cooperation extends beyond the immediate bilateral relationship between Israel and Ukraine, influencing broader regional dynamics involving Gulf states such as the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Following Iran's recent military actions, these nations have sought Ukrainian assistance to protect their critical infrastructure and populations from missile and drone attacks, a request that President Zelenskyy has addressed with promises of support during his visits to the region. This trend highlights Ukraine's unique position as a global asset possessing unparalleled experience in managing asymmetric warfare against drone swarms, a skill set that is rapidly evolving and essential for many countries facing similar threats. Ultimately, the value provided by Ukraine lies not necessarily in new technological breakthroughs but in the depth of its operational experience, proving that sustained engagement with a frontline adversary can yield effective solutions without requiring constant reliance on cutting-edge hardware alone.

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All right, so in terms of the similarities and things that Ukraine and Israel today have in common, one of that is a common adversary or enemy, and that is Iran. How does this shared enmity with Iran play out in relations between Israel and Ukraine? >> Absolutely. We see eye to eye the Iranian threat. Uh Iran Iran is clearly our enemy, but it's clearly an enemy for Ukraine as well. And we uh started cooperating on the Iranian issue. I cannot talk about in details, you know, about the cooperation, but we managed to um together with the Ukrainians to bring about a decision by the Ukrainian government to declare the Revolutionary Guards as the terrorist organization. This was a very important decision, not only because it was a Ukrainian decision, but also because many countries in Europe uh look at Ukraine, and they you know, they value this decision, and and they might make the same decision following the Ukrainian the Ukrainian decision. And also on in the international organizations, we cooperate on the Ukrainian issue because there is it's clear to both countries that we have a common common enemy, and we should work together to limit its influence in military terms on the Middle East and on the Ukrainian conflict. >> So, earlier you talked about, for example, before the war and at the beginning of the war with Russia, how Ukraine sought Israel's Israel's assistance, but what did Israel learn from Ukraine's experience vis-à-vis Iran that helped Israel militarily? >> I think the whole world learned a lot from Ukraine. And that you can stand a very serious enemy. You can even uh um you know, you can you can win. You can protect your country despite the change of of the capabilities, the the different capabilities. And as for Iran, obviously Ukraine has gained huge experience in dealing with Iranian weapons, especially the drones. And this is something that we started learning from the Ukrainians because we are facing the same threat at the moment. But Ukraine is probably the only country which has real experience in dealing with this drone. And actually they managed to develop very efficient systems. And now how they managed to fire most of the drones. Uh unfortunately, they don't have enough air defense to to fire the to deal with the ballistic missiles or with cruise cruise missiles, but uh as for drones, they are pretty efficient. And I think this is very important experience for us as well. >> So, are there any real-time kind of lessons that Israel has already adapted uh from learning from Ukraine? >> We are in the process. I I cannot tell you if we have adopted these lessons already, but we have technologies of our own. We go in a way in two parallel lines because both countries are in active war situation. And both countries develop military technologies. But the synergy is there and it will develop further. >> Now, you mentioned that Israel isn't the only one seeking Ukrainian assistance and learning from its experience. We also saw in the wake of the Iran war, countries like the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia seeking Ukrainian assistance. So, how it What How much of an impact is this playing in Ukraine's relations with the region? And can Israel maybe kind of try and hop on that for regional integration? >> Uh absolutely. And I think the Ukrainians have realized that they have for a change a they have cards. They have a clear asset. Uh which they managed to develop and which is very important for many countries in the world, especially especially the Gulf countries which were attacked by Iran. And I know that quite many countries in the Middle East have turned to the Ukrainian government and asked for assistance in protecting uh their critical infrastructure and their population from the Iranian missiles and drones. And this assistance, as far as I know, was provided. You know, Zelenskyy visited the Middle Eastern countries and he promised to provide the assistance to them. >> From what you can share, what are these lessons that Ukraine is giving its partners, Israel, the Gulf? >> It's not necessarily about any uh new technologies. It's about the experience. And there is no other country which has such an experience as Ukraine, as the Ukrainians with this huge frontline and with the experience of many years dealing with drones, not necessarily Iranian drones, but also Russian drones. You know, Russia managed to develop huge you know, industry of drones and and in general military industry. I don't think they use that much the Iranian drones anymore. But at the beginning I remember they were relying pretty much on the Iranian drones, but not probably not anymore. And this field obviously changes quite rapidly. >> Because at the beginning of the war you had Ukrainian policemen shooting these drones with rifles in the streets. And I would have thought that's not the case now. >> not the case. Now they have other ways of dealing with these drones, but not necessarily, you know, any technological breakthrough was needed to deal with it. It's just a matter of experience.