Ukraine’s Bid to Become Israel
Kiev’s search for permanent protection
Simon Rorschach examines Ukraine’s attempt to turn battlefield ingenuity into lasting influence in Washington and the limits of following Israel’s path without Israel’s political power.
Ukraine is trying to turn battlefield necessity into a place within the American order. The clearest sign came on 25 July, when Ukrainian forces attacked an Iranian merchant vessel in the Caspian Sea. Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, answered without delay. He threatened retaliation and accused Israel of helping to set the operation in motion. The attack followed another important event by only fourteen days. Over Kuwait, American forces had shot down an Iranian drone using a defensive system conceived and built in Ukraine. Never before had the United States destroyed an Iranian drone with a Ukrainian weapon. Kiev is therefore no longer dealing with Tehran in one way alone. It is both an arms supplier and an active participant. The model it seems to have in mind is Israel: a state tied closely to Washington, highly advanced in military technology, able to fight without American soldiers beside it, and capable of giving the United States weapons and methods that American industry has not yet produced for itself. The difference is geography. Israel performs this role in the Middle East. Ukraine wants to perform it on the eastern edge of Europe.
What does Ukraine hope to gain from this strategy?
