- October 5, 2025
- 3:31 pm
- Ukraine
On October 4, 2025, Ukrainian publicist Mykhailo Dubynianskyi published a column in the publication “Ukrainska Pravda” titled “A Tale of Unrequited Love” (Ukr.).
His text is not just about politics.
It is an essay about the feelings between nations that have experienced war, pain, and loneliness, but have understood differently what reciprocity means.
Who is Mykhailo Dubynianskyi
Mykhailo Dubynianskyi is a Ukrainian publicist, analyst, and columnist for “Ukrainska Pravda”,
known for his precise and ironic texts at the intersection of politics, sociology, and philosophy.
He is one of those authors who can talk about war — without slogans, but with feeling and inner truth.
Since the 2000s, Dubynianskyi has been writing about Ukrainian identity, societal transformation,
and how collective emotions shape foreign policy.
In the column from October 4, he reflects on why Ukraine loves Israel so much,
while Israel responds with love — cautious, almost imperceptible.
Two years of war and one defeat — informational
The author reminds us: in October 2025, it will be two years since the start of the new war in the Middle East.
Israel did not achieve complete victory on the battlefield,
but lost on another front — in the realm of public perception.
In the first days after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, the whole world sympathized with Israel.
But within weeks, images of destroyed Gaza began to dominate Western media,
and the hashtags #FreeGaza and #StopGenocide displaced Israeli flags.
Global sympathy turned to condemnation,
and the only country where this trend did not work was Ukraine.
Ukraine — an exception to the global scheme
There were no rallies in support of Gaza on Ukrainian streets.
No pro-Palestinian flash mobs appeared on social media.
From the first days of the conflict, Israel became the favorite of public sympathies.
According to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS),
in December 2023, 69% of Ukrainians sympathized with Israel,
and only 1% — with Palestine.
For comparison, in the USA (survey by Pew Research Center, November 2023)
Israel was supported by 38% of respondents,
Palestine — 11%.
In the UK (survey by YouGov, December 2023)
the level of sympathy was equal: 19% for each side.
Ukrainian solidarity with Israel, writes Dubynianskyi, is a phenomenon
unparalleled in the world.
Love that was not reciprocated
But if Ukraine became the most pro-Israel society on the planet,
Israel itself was not as pro-Ukrainian.
The cabinet of Benjamin Netanyahu avoided confrontation with Moscow,
did not impose sanctions, and did not supply weapons to Kyiv.
This policy of “cautious neutrality”
found support within the country as well.
In the spring of 2022, the Israel Democracy Institute surveyed Israeli citizens:
60% agreed that they should not join Western sanctions against Russia,
and 67% — that Israel should not provide military aid to Ukraine.
A year later, according to Maagar Mochot (March 2023),
63% of Israelis supported the official position of neutrality,
72% opposed arms supplies,
and 56% feared spoiling relations with Moscow.
Ukraine dreams of being Israel
Dubynianskyi reminds us that admiration for Israel in Ukraine did not begin in 2023.
Since 2014, it has become a kind of ideal:
a country that survives, fights, builds technology, and holds the line.
The phrase “We must become the second Israel” was heard everywhere —
from talk shows to presidential speeches.
But in Israel, a mirror dream never arose.
No one said: “We must become the second Ukraine.”
This connection was always one-sided.
Pragmatism and romance
Israel thinks pragmatically.
Ukraine — romantically.
If you look coldly, Israel’s war does not bring us benefits.
It distracts the world’s attention from the war in Ukraine.
It absorbs resources,
including American components for Ukrainian air defense systems,
which were redirected to the Middle East in 2024.
It creates propaganda opportunities for the Kremlin.
According to Bloomberg,
Putin closely monitors Netanyahu’s actions
and considers the Israeli operation “tougher than his own.”
A tale of unrequited love
Ukraine continues to love Israel —
sincerely, without calculation, even without reciprocity.
Dubynianskyi calls it “a tale of unrequited love” —
a relationship where one side believes,
and the other prefers to watch from the sidelines.
And yet — the love is alive.
It did not fade after October 7, nor after February 24.
The first steps towards each other
In September 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced
that one of the Patriot systems previously used in Israel
is already protecting Ukrainian skies.
Two more are expected to arrive soon.
This is the first, albeit cautious, signal of reciprocity.
The ending we have not yet read
Dubynianskyi’s column ends softly, without moralizing.
He writes about hope — that perhaps,
one day this love will become mutual.
But for now — it is still a tale.
About feelings, not calculation.
About a country that knows how to love even in an era of cynicism.
