- September 25, 2026
- 11:14 pm
- World News
On September 25, 2026, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Russian attacks on Kyiv following the death of a 14-year-old Israeli citizen. But this statement is far from the first. Over four and a half years of war, Israeli diplomacy has several times directly named Russia, sometimes spoke more cautiously, and at certain periods preferred humanitarian aid to publicly accusing Moscow.
Author: Stas Shifer
If you compile these statements by date, you can see not a single consistent diplomatic line, but rather noticeable fluctuations.
September 25, 2026: A 14-year-old Israeli citizen dies — the Ministry of Foreign Affairs directly speaks about Russian attacks
On September 25, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that it condemns Russian attacks on Kyiv, which resulted in the death of a 14-year-old Israeli, and about 20 people, including his mother, were injured.
“We condemn the recent Russian attacks on Kyiv, which resulted in the death of a 14-year-old Israeli citizen last night, and 20 people, including the boy’s mother, were injured,” the ministry’s statement said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed condolences to the teenager’s family and other families who lost loved ones “as a result of Russian aggression.”
The family lived in a high-rise building in the Pechersk district of Kyiv, near the Israeli embassy. Relatives requested to transport the teenager’s body to Israel, where his grandparents live. That same night, Russia attacked Ukraine with hundreds of drones of various types; the Ukrainian Air Force reported 295 drones.
This statement stands out for one detail: the Russian strike this time directly took the life of an Israeli citizen. However, the formula for condemning Russia was not new for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
January 28, 2026: Saar again condemns Russian strikes on Ukrainian civilians
On January 28, 2026, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar spoke by phone with his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sibiga.
After the conversation, the Israeli side reported that Saar expressed solidarity with the Ukrainian people and condemned Russian attacks against Ukrainian civilians. He also expressed hope for reaching an agreement that would end the war.
Thus, the January statement was not a reaction to the death of an Israeli or damage to an Israeli object. It was specifically about strikes on the civilian population of Ukraine.
August 1, 2025: Russian strike hit the home of an Israeli embassy employee
On August 1, 2025, Saar reacted even more harshly after a strike on residential areas of Kyiv.
“I condemn Russian strikes on residential areas of Kyiv, which led to enormous and tragic human losses,” wrote the head of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He reported that he spoke with the secretary of the Israeli ambassador to Ukraine: her home was also damaged.
Saar again called for a sustainable peace that should ensure Ukraine’s security. Here, Russia was no longer hiding behind formulas like “hostilities” or “parties to the conflict.” It was named directly.
July 23, 2025: “Israel condemns Russian strikes on civilians”
A few days before this, on July 23, 2025, Gideon Saar was in Kyiv and spoke alongside Andriy Sibiga.
At that time, one of the most direct Israeli formulations during the entire full-scale war was voiced:
“Israel condemns Russian strikes on civilians.”
Saar also spoke about “a long-lasting and sustainable peace that ensures Ukraine’s security,” called the relations between Israel and Ukraine special, and explained that he came to Kyiv to express support for the Ukrainian people.
NANews detailed that visit in the article “We condemn Russia’s strikes on the civilian population”: Gideon Saar in Kyiv.
Another interesting point. When the statement appeared, some publications described it almost as the first case when the Israeli Foreign Minister directly condemned Russia. Historically, this is incorrect: such statements were made back in February and March 2022.
2024: After the strike on “Ohmatdyt” — aid instead of a separate harsh statement
On July 8, 2024, a Russian missile hit the “Ohmatdyt” children’s hospital in Kyiv — the largest specialized children’s medical center in Ukraine. A UN monitoring mission later reported a high probability of a direct missile hit launched by the Russian Federation.
The Israeli reaction at that time primarily followed a humanitarian line. Ambassador Michael Brodsky reported readiness to accept Ukrainian children with cancer in Israel and discussed assistance in restoring the hospital. Israel was already cooperating with “Ohmatdyt”: Ukrainian children had been treated in Israeli clinics before.
At the same time, in the official publications available to us from that period, we did not find a separate statement from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a formula like “we condemn the Russian strike on ‘Ohmatdyt’.” This is also part of the story and should not be retroactively embellished.
And this is a good example of how different Israeli diplomatic speech was even within one year.
October 10, 2022: Lapid directly condemns Russia for strikes on Kyiv and other cities
On October 10, 2022, Russia launched one of the first major massive missile strikes on Ukrainian cities after several months of war. Missiles hit Kyiv and other regions.
At that time, Yair Lapid was already serving as the Prime Minister of Israel.
His formulation was extremely clear: he stated that he “strongly condemns Russian attacks on the civilian population of Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine,” and expressed condolences to the families of the victims and the Ukrainian people.
In its construction, this statement is very similar to what the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs would say almost four years later after the death of a 14-year-old citizen of the country in Kyiv.
April 10, 2022: Kramatorsk and the demand to stop the “Russian attack”
On April 8, a Russian missile hit the Kramatorsk railway station, where thousands of people were trying to evacuate from the Donetsk region. Dozens of people died.
Two days later, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an official reaction.
“The death of civilians at the Kramatorsk railway station is a shocking event deserving condemnation,” the ministry said. This was followed by an even more significant phrase: Israel called for the “immediate cessation of the Russian attack.”
Thus, already in the spring of 2022, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs not only condemned the death of civilians but also directly linked the events to the Russian attack.
April 3, 2022: Bucha — “intentional harm to civilians is a war crime”
After the withdrawal of Russian troops from Bucha near Kyiv, the bodies of hundreds of civilians were discovered. Some lay on the streets with their hands tied, others were in mass graves. Russia denied responsibility.
Initially, Israeli Ambassador Michael Brodsky wrote that the killing of civilians is a war crime and cannot be justified. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs specifically clarified to journalists: the ambassador’s statement itself is not an official accusation of Russia.
A few hours later, Yair Lapid spoke. He said it was impossible to remain indifferent to the footage from Bucha “after the Russian army left,” and added: intentional harm to the civilian population is a war crime, which he strongly condemns.
Russia was present in the context of the statement, although the legal formula “Russia committed a war crime” was not pronounced by Lapid at that time. The difference is small to the ear, but significant for diplomatic text.
March 13–14, 2022: “no justification for the Russian invasion”
On March 13, 2022, during a visit to Romania, Lapid said almost without diplomatic circumlocution: Israel condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is “unjustifiable,” and Russia must cease fire and attacks and move to negotiations.
The next day in Bratislava, he repeated: Israel condemns the Russian invasion, there is no justification for violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity and attacks against the civilian population. Simultaneously, Lapid stated that Israel would not allow the country to be used as a way to bypass Western sanctions against Russia.
Thus, already three weeks after the start of the full-scale invasion, the public position of the Israeli Foreign Minister was formulated quite directly.
March 1, 2022: Babyn Yar — and the first noticeable diplomatic gap in formulations
On March 1, a Russian strike on the Kyiv TV tower hit near the Babyn Yar memorial complex. Five people died, and buildings on the territory of the adjacent Jewish cemetery were damaged.
For the Israeli audience, no explanation is almost needed here, but the historical weight of the place is important: in Babyn Yar in September 1941, the Nazis shot almost 34,000 Kyiv Jews in two days.
Yair Lapid stated that Israel condemns the damage to the memorial and the Jewish cemetery and is ready to help restore the affected objects. But he did not name Russia in his statement.
However, Yad Vashem on the same day used much harsher language, directly speaking of a “deadly Russian attack” and condemning strikes on civilian objects.
It turned out to be almost two languages within one Israel: cautious state diplomacy and a significantly more direct statement from the national Holocaust memorial.
February 24, 2022: the first official condemnation
And finally, the point from which it all begins.
On February 24, 2022, on the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid publicly stated:
“The Russian attack on Ukraine is a serious violation of the international order. Israel condemns this attack.”
He also reported Israel’s readiness to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This became the first public direct condemnation of Moscow by the Israeli leadership after the start of the full-scale war.
Already on March 1, Israel’s representative at the UN General Assembly repeated that the Russian invasion is a serious violation of the international order and called on Russia to cease the attack and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.
At the same time, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the first weeks of the war chose a noticeably more cautious public line and tried to maintain the possibility of mediation and contacts with Moscow. It sometimes turned out strangely: the Foreign Minister directly named Russia, the Prime Minister avoided it. But this is precisely why the history of Israel’s position does not fit into a simple “Israel condemned” or “Israel was silent.”
What has changed over four and a half years
If you place the statements side by side, several different periods become visible.
In February–March 2022, Lapid quickly moved from general condemnation of the Russian invasion to a direct demand to stop the attacks. But at the same time, Israel tried not to sever relations with Moscow and sometimes deliberately did not name the culprit of a specific strike — as was the case, for example, after the attack near Babyn Yar.
In the spring and fall of 2022, the formulations became direct again: Kramatorsk, Bucha, massive strikes on Kyiv and other cities.
In 2023–2024, the public line was less consistent. After the strike on Uman, the Israeli ambassador reacted directly, after the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP, Russia was not named in the statement, and after the strike on “Ohmatdyt,” Israel focused on medical assistance.
With Gideon Saar’s arrival at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the language became noticeably more definite again. July 23, 2025 — “we condemn Russian strikes on civilians.” August 1 — “Russian strikes on residential areas of Kyiv.” January 28, 2026 — again condemnation of Russian attacks against Ukrainian civilians.
And on September 25, 2026, this diplomatic chronology received a direct Israeli human context: in Kyiv, a 14-year-old Israeli citizen died from a Russian strike, and his mother was injured.
Therefore, the current statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not the first condemnation of Russia by Israel and not even the first condemnation of Russian strikes on civilians. But the circumstances of this statement are different. The war, which Israeli diplomacy has sometimes directly named and sometimes described with very cautious words since February 2022, this time took the life of an Israeli child.