Ukraine’s intelligence chief said a protracted war between Israel and Hamas may affect Western supplies of military aid to Kyiv in its fight against Russia.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Thursday and pledged Washington’s support for the country following the weekend attacks by Hamas militants in southern Israel.
Blinken promised Israel more ammunition to re-stock its air defenses and said there was bipartisan support in Congress for more military assistance. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden pledged U.S. support for Israel.
However, there are concerns that U.S. and Western military support for Ukraine is starting to wane because of domestic political concerns and budgetary constraints.
In an interview with the media outlet Ukrainian Pravda, the head of Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that if the conflict in Israel is over within a few weeks, “there is nothing to worry about” regarding the military aid the West is giving Ukraine.
“But if the situation drags on, it is quite clear that there will be certain problems with the fact that it will be necessary to supply weapons and ammunition not only to Ukraine,” he said.
He also said that Hamas’ use of drones on armored vehicles in the attack on Saturday bore the hallmarks of Russian involvement.
“No one other than those who were in our theater of war could do such a thing. Since we were not there, it means that it was the Russians,” he said, according to a translation.
He also believes it was notable that Russian state-run news agency Sputnik began Arabic language broadcasts in Lebanon “with a clear Russian narrative.” Also significant was a visit by a Russian military official last month to Iran, which has supported Hamas.
Budanov did not offer evidence for his claims of Moscow’s involvement in the Hamas attack. The Kremlin said it was concerned about the Hamas attack and called for a peaceful resolution, although Russian President Vladimir Putin said the conflict in Israel was a “clear example of the failure of U.S. policy in the Middle East.”
Newsweek reached out to the Kremlin by email for comment.
Meanwhile, amid concerns that the war could spill over into the wider region, Budanov expressed concern about what might happen in the longer term.
“Based on the totality of geography, we see several conflicts that at first glance seem to be regional, except for Ukraine, but they are all connected by the same countries,” he said. “I believe we are approaching global war pretty quickly.”