Israeli-Ukrainian relations

A number of important events in the history of the Jewish people occurred in Ukraine. It plays an important role in the Israeli education system of the younger generation of Jews. In addition, Ukraine is also rich in historical events of a religious nature, there is the tomb of Rabbi Nachman from Breslav, which is a place of pilgrimage for many religious Jews.

At the same time, Israel and the West Bank are rich in places related to the history of Christianity. This is especially true of Jerusalem, where there are many holy places for the Russian Orthodox Church .

For Jews all over the world, Ukraine is as important as the memorable scene of the Holocaust ; in particular, on its territory is Babi Yar .

Ukraine gained independence relatively recently, which is a decisive factor in the development of a sense of national identity for its people, as well as in Israel - both countries gained independence in the 20th century.

Special tourist programs for Jews and Israelis, developed in collaboration with the Lviv Municipality and the regional administration, include visits to Jewish memorial sites and architectural monuments. Such tours are conducted by Hebrew speaking guides ^[7] . In May 2015, UIA launched direct regular flights from Lviv to Tel Aviv twice a week ^[8] .

The Israeli government claims that the failure to vote in support of Ukraine against the Russian aggression is associated with a strike by government officials. ^[9]

In August 2017, the Israeli Minister for the Environment, Zeev Elkin , visited Ukraine. During the visit, he met with former President Leonid Kuchma , Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman , Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin, as well as Ministers of Finance and Economy. Elkin also visited Kharkiv and Lviv , where he met with the heads of cities. The meetings discussed the strengthening of bilateral cooperation and the situation in the Middle East region. ^[ten]

In November 2018, Israel was subjected to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip, and also conducted a short anti-terrorist operation, which lasted only one day. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued a statement on this matter, expressing support for the "friendly people of Israel", blaming the escalation of the conflict on the Hamas group. ^{[11] [12]}

Ukrainian Jews

Ukraine has one of the largest Jewish communities in the world. At the same time, Ukrainian Jews form a significant ethno-social group in Israel.

In 2012, the bilateral turnover between the countries amounted to $ 1.3 billion, showing an increase of 49.1% compared with 2011. The total exports of Ukrainian goods to Israel amounted to $ 922.5 million (including $ 796.4 million - goods and $ 126.1 million - services). Imports from Israel reached $ 364.2 million (of this amount, $ 266.8 million is for goods and $ 97.4 million is for services).

The main products of export from Ukraine to Israel in 2012 were: grain (50.6%), non-precious metals (18.2%), airplanes (6.9%), food industry waste (5.8%), oilseeds and oilseeds (3.3%), fats and oils of animal and vegetable origin (1.5%), electrical engineering (1.2%), nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery (1.1%). The main items of Israeli imports to Ukraine in 2012 were mineral fuels, mineral oils and their distillation products (42.4%), various chemical products (9.0%), plastic (7.0%), goods purchased in ports ( 5.5%), pharmaceutical products (4.8%), electrical engineering (4.4%), nuclear reactors, boilers and machinery (4.1%), fruits and nuts (3.1%), optical equipment: photographic equipment (2.2%), soaps: organic surfactants (1.9%), synthetic or artificial (1.7%), vegetables (1.6%), essential oils (1.5%) ^[13] .

The Israeli Foreign Trade Administration at the Ministry of Economy has an economic and trade representation in Kiev. Its main goal is the development of trade and exports by expanding the presence of Israeli industry in the Ukrainian market, supporting individual exporters in marketing activities in Ukraine, attracting investment and expanding strategic ties with Ukraine, familiarizing Ukrainian businessmen with Israeli industry and economics, helping them solve in front of Israeli companies operating in Ukraine. Economic Attaché in Ukraine - Elizabeth Solovyov ^[14] .

The Honorary Consul of Israel in Western Ukraine, Oleg Vyshnyakov, founded the inter-ministerial committee of the Ukrainian-Israeli trade and economic cooperation, and also initiated an economic business forum, which was held in November 2015 in Kiev. The forum program was attended by leading developers in the field of industry and commerce of the two states ^[15] .

In 2017, imports of Ukrainian goods in Israel amounted to $ 605 million. ^[16]

In March 2017, the fifth round of negotiations between Ukraine and Israel on a free trade agreement was held in Tel Aviv. The sixth round was held in July of the same year in Kiev. At that time, Israel occupied the 22nd place in the list of trade partners of Ukraine, the amount of trade between the two countries amounted to 367 million dollars a year. ^[17] In March 2018, the successful completion of the negotiations was announced. According to media reports, in 2017, trade between the countries amounted to $ 880 million, of which $ 125 million was Israeli exports. The Free Trade Agreement implies an increase in turnover of 15% over the next 5 years. ^[18] In November 2018, the Ukrainian government approved a free trade agreement with Israel. It must be ratified by the end of the year and enter into force in 2019. ^[sixteen]

At the beginning of November 2018, the Israeli organization MASHAV , within the framework of the Ukrainian Horticulture Business Development Project (UHBDP), conducted classes with groups of Ukrainian farmers on the topic “Information and communication technologies in the development of small and medium business” ^[nineteen]

In January 2019, a free trade agreement was signed between the countries. At the end of 2018, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $ 1 billion, it is planned that it will double in 5 years after signing the agreement. The volume of economic cooperation should grow by 15%. ^[20] At the beginning of 2019, the main items of Ukrainian exports to Israel were cereals (46.5%), metals (25.9%), olives, food, wood products, petroleum products. Israel supplies Ukraine with chemicals (39.8%), mineral fuels and petroleum products (9.2%), plastics and polymers, equipment for a nuclear reactor, machine tools and medicines. ^[20]

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko made a state visit to Israel on December 22, 2015, during which he met with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyanu , and also spoke at the Knesset ^[21] . Rivlin visited Ukraine with a return visit in September 2016. ^[4] In June 2018, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Pavel Klimkin , visited Israel. During the visit, he met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, with whom he discussed "topical international issues." In addition, Klimkin paid a visit to Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem. ^[22]

In January 2019, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko arrived in Israel on an official visit to sign a free trade agreement between the two countries. Poroshenko was accompanied by the Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv, the Minister of Defense Stepan Poltorak and other high-ranking officials, as well as representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine . During the visit, Poroshenko met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President of Israel Reuven Rivlin, and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein. ^{[20] [23]}

In October 2018, several Israeli pilots took part in the “Open Skies” exercise in Ukraine. They had the opportunity to test the performance of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems. ^[24]

In 2018, Israel purchased the Kolchuga-M passive radio intelligence station from Ukraine. It is assumed that the station will be used by the Israeli Air Force during exercises. ^[25]

In June 2017, Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, speaking at the Knesset Internal Affairs Commission, stated that at this time, 79,000 citizens of Ukraine and Georgia were illegally in the country (twice the number of illegal immigrants from African countries). According to the Minister, when entering the country without having to apply for a tourist visa, tourists file an application for asylum and, from that moment, under international humanitarian law, they cannot be deported from Israel. Earlier, Georgia was recognized by an Israeli court as a country in which its citizens are not in danger, therefore, applications for asylum from Georgian citizens in Israel will be rejected. In addition, an outreach campaign is under way in Georgia telling that asylum promises in Israel are usually made by scammers. Dery said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice of Israel should launch a similar campaign in Ukraine. ^{[26] [27]}

In February-March 2019, a diplomatic scandal erupted after the number of denials of Ukrainian citizens in Israel increased. In turn ^[28], Israeli tourists faced a denial of entry into the territory of Ukraine at the Boryspil airport. In some cases, representatives of the Israeli embassy in Kiev came to the airport. Consultations were also held between the diplomatic departments of the two countries. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry even announced the possibility of abolishing the visa-free regime. ^{[29] [30]} Bilateral diplomatic consultations are being prepared on this matter. ^[31]

• Flight 1812 a / k "Siberia" - October 4, 2001 Ukraine inadvertently shot down a plane flying from Tel Aviv, killing 40 Israelis and 38 Russians.
• Abduction of Dirar Abu Sesi ( Eng. )