Ukrainian parliamentary delegation visits Israel

A Ukrainian parliamentary delegation visited Israel for the first time in many years. The delegation was led by MP Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk (Servant of the People faction), chair of the Ukraine-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group and one of the few Hebrew-speaking members of the current Verkhovna Rada.

The visit, which took place on 9–12 June 2025, had a very busy schedule. Ukrainian parliamentarians met with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein, and MP Zeev Elkin. Edelstein and Elkin, both born in Ukraine, are co-chairs of the Israel-Ukraine parliamentary group.

Ukrainian MPs also met with Deputy Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Yuval Fuchs, Head of the Department of International Relations at the Israeli Ministry of Health Asher Solomon, and Head of the Nativ Bureau Alon Shoham.

Ukrainian MPs discussed countering money laundering and sanctions against Russia in the Israeli Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Finance.

The visit continued at the Sheba Medical Center and the Home Front Command. Sheba offers advanced training courses for surgeons from Ukraine; previously, 37 wounded soldiers and officers of Ukraine's Armed Forces were treated there.

Ukrainian parliamentarians visited Israeli settlements and kibbutzim in the south that were affected by the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October 2023. They had no problem relating to what they saw in the Israeli settlements near the Gaza Strip. For example, Vasylevska-Smahliuk's constituency in the north of the Kyiv region was severely affected by the Russian occupation in February and March 2022, when hundreds of civilians were killed, and houses in Bucha and Borodianka were destroyed.

The massacre carried out by Hamas terrorists, the crimes committed by Russian occupiers in Ukraine, and Iranian Shaheds flying into Ukrainian cities and threatening Israeli cities are all fragments of one global evil. Counteracting it requires direct dialogue between Ukrainians and Jews.

Vasylevska-Smahliuk kindly agreed to answer my questions about this useful and intensive visit of Ukraine's parliamentary delegation to Israel. Not all the details can be publicized, but the visit is expected to have long-lasting effects.

Shimon Briman: What does your group focus on in the Verkhovna Rada, and what are the main goals of the visit to Israel?

Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk: As chair of the friendship group, I have actively supported Israel since 2021. I authored a resolution recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization, spoke in support of Israel after the outbreak of the war in Gaza after the 7 October 2023 tragedy, and consulted with Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Security Service on recognizing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorists.

We decided to visit Israel to show our support. We need to develop our bilateral relations, share achievements, and learn from each other's experience of fighting terrorism. There is great interest in Israel among Ukrainian MPs, and our friendship group has nearly 70 members.

Shimon Briman: Who on the Israeli side was most helpful in organizing your visit and expressed interest in Ukrainian issues?

Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk: Yuli Edelstein has, of course, been the most active advocate of developing Ukrainian-Israeli relations.

We are happy that, along with Edelstein as a representative of the coalition, a number of opposition MPs, such as Vladimir Bilyak and Meirav Ben-Ari, support us.

Despite Edelstein being extremely busy with internal affairs (a conscription bill was actively discussed during our visit), he gave us his full attention, for which we are deeply grateful. He was genuinely involved in preparing our delegation's visit, which was evident at every stage. On behalf of our delegation, we presented Edelstein with a symbolic gift — a vyshyvanka (Ukrainian embroidered shirt).

As far as MP Zeev Elkin is concerned, with all due respect and understanding of the Israeli-Russian situation, we would not want it to affect Israel's relations with Ukraine. During our conversation with Elkin, we did not hear any specifics from him on any of the issues we raised, such as sanctions against Russian citizens, freezing their accounts in Israeli financial institutions, and condemning Russia's cooperation with Hamas, the antisemitic attacks by the Russian leadership against President Zelensky, and the provocations during Putin's meeting with the released hostage Trufanov. We also presented Elkin with a vyshyvanka, hoping it would somehow help him reconsider his public rhetoric.

Shimon Briman: How were you received in Israel? What messages were important for you to convey to the Israelis?

Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk: We were given an excellent reception, and the Knesset prepared an extensive program for us. We were interested in how the rear services and hospitals work in emergency situations so that we could learn from their experience. We also met with officials to convince them to respond more boldly to antisemitic attacks by the Russian Federation.

It was important for us to articulate our concern that Israeli dual-use parts end up in Russian drones and missiles. And we considered it crucial to visit the places where terrorists brutally killed Israelis and took hostages. We visited kibbutzim in the south, as well as a military base where 16 female Israeli soldiers were killed.

Shimon Briman: What do you think unites Israelis and Ukrainians?

Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk: Our wars have a lot in common. Like the Israelis, we were taken by surprise. The atrocities in Bucha and Borodianka, which are in my constituency, and the tortures and murders of Israelis at the Nova festival and in kibbutzim are all part of the same terrorist modus operandi. This pain unites and teaches us that we can stand up to evil only by joining forces.

Concluding this review of the Ukrainian MPs' visit to Israel, I would like to emphasize that, as an expert on Israel-Ukraine relations with 25 years of experience, I strongly believe that, given her excellent knowledge of Hebrew and deep understanding of the Israeli realities, MP Vasylevska-Smahliuk could make an excellent Ukrainian ambassador to Israel in the future.

The Ukrainian parliamentary delegation managed to leave Israel just three hours before Ben Gurion Airport was shut down on 13 June 2025, and Israel launched its preemptive attack against Iran's nuclear facilities, which are aimed at destroying Israel.

Just a day and a half later, Iran's missiles hit peaceful Israeli cities, killing a family of Ukrainian refugees from Odesa, including three children, in their apartment in Bat Yam. This tragedy once again underscored that the same axis of global evil poses a deadly threat to Ukraine and Israel. The time has come for closer cooperation between our countries and peoples.

Text: Shimon Briman (Israel).
Photo: Ukraine-Israel Friendship Group of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Translated into English by Vasyl Starko.