Ukrainian ambassador presses Israel on drone gap as Hezbollah attacks rise, says Kyiv’s battlefield expertise overlooked

Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, criticized the Israeli government on Monday for what he described as a lack of interest in Ukraine’s drone expertise, despite mounting Hezbollah drone attacks against Israel.

In an interview with Israeli news outlet Ynet News, Korniychuk argued that Israel and Ukraine face similar security threats stemming from Iranian drone warfare and said Israel was missing an opportunity to benefit from Ukraine’s battlefield experience gained during the war with Russia.

“We are fighting from a different angle against the same axis of evil,” Korniychuk said, referring to Iranian-produced drones used against Ukraine, Israel and Arab Gulf states.

“Unfortunately, we do not see much interest or appetite from the Israeli leadership in this field. I do not want to speculate about the reasons for that,” he continued.

Korniychuk also addressed the recent Hezbollah drone attacks against Israel.

“When meeting people from different parts of Israeli society, I often hear frustration over the fact that Israel is missing an opportunity to save more of its soldiers’ lives,” he said. “Most Israelis support Ukraine and do not understand why Ukrainians are able to deal with drones and Israel is not."

An Israeli reservist soldier was killed and three additional soldiers were injured on Sunday in a Hezbollah drone attack. Although Israel has significantly degraded Hezbollah’s rocket and missile arsenal, the Iranian-backed terrorist group continues to threaten Israeli soldiers and civilians with explosive drones.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has repeatedly called for closer military cooperation with Israel, argued in a March interview that Russia is supporting Iranian-led drone attacks in the Middle East.

“I think Russia is supporting Iran directly, 100 percent,” he assessed, adding, “nobody asked me to help.”

Iran launched large-scale missile and drone attacks against Arab Gulf states during the recent conflict involving the United States and Israel, prompting several regional governments to seek Ukrainian expertise – including Ukrainian-made interceptor drones – to strengthen defenses against Iranian aerial threats.

“Ukraine has the greatest experience in the world in countering attack drones, and without our experience, it will be very difficult for the Gulf region, the entire Middle East, and partners in Europe and America to build strong protection,” Zelensky argued in a post on 𝕏 in March.

During the war, Zelensky visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Syria to promote Ukrainian drone cooperation.

"We are talking about a 10-year partnership. We have already signed the agreement with Saudi Arabia, and we have just signed a similar 10-year agreement with Qatar," Zelensky announced after securing security agreements with several Gulf states.

By contrast, Israel has reportedly not approached Ukraine regarding interceptor drone technologies and instead appears focused on developing domestic solutions to counter the Hezbollah drone threat. Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir held a high-level meeting on Sunday to discuss responses to the growing drone threat from Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel has long been considered a pioneer in drone technology, having begun deploying drones during the 1982 Lebanon War in the 1980s. The country has also developed advanced aerial defense systems, including Iron Dome and Arrow. However, those systems are expensive to operate and were primarily designed to intercept rockets and ballistic missiles rather than low-cost drones.

By contrast, Ukrainian STING interceptor drones are considered cost-effective and reportedly cost about $2,000 per unit.