US sent Israel-stored munitions to Ukraine: report

The United States sent a munitions stockpile stored in Israel to Ukraine for use in the war against Russia, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, saying the decision was made last year when Washington's Middle East ally was under a centrist premier.

An Israeli official confirmed the report to Reuters, saying that then-Prime Minister Yair Lapid approved the transfer although the United States does not formally need such consent.

While it has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Israel has limited its assistance to Kyiv to humanitarian aid and protective gear, while ruling out any direct weapons supply.

The Israelis want to maintain a coordination hotline with Russia, set up in 2015, over their military strikes on suspected Iranian targets in Syria, where Moscow, as a key ally of the regime, has a garrison. They are also mindful of the welfare of Russia's big Jewish community.

Netanyahu also built close relations with President Vladimir Putin during his last time in office.

The Israeli official did not know if any further such US arms transfers from Israel were expected under Netanyahu, who took office on 29 December in charge of a far-right coalition government.

The US Embassy in Israel had no immediate comment on The New York Times report. Ukrainian Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk told Reuters by phone that he had "no idea" if the report was true. The Russian embassy declined to comment.

Lapid, who took office in July, was especially vocal in sympathising with Ukraine. However, Kyiv has been critical of Israel for failing to provide it with weapons.

Yet a person familiar with Lapid's decision-making played down the possibility that this had sway in the US arms transfer, saying: "I believe – and I hope – that any Israeli prime minister would have gone along with it."

For decades, the Pentagon has stored munitions in Israel to serve as emergency resupplies for the country in wartime – or for handover to other US allies.

According to The New York Times, the US munitions moved from Israel to Ukraine were around 300,000 155-millimetre artillery shells, a kind Kyiv is using up at a high pace.

Although such supplies are under Israeli lock-and-key, "the Americans don't need our permission to move them. These are American property," David Ivry, a former director-general of Israel's defence ministry and air force ex-general, told Reuters.

(Reuters)