In a first since war began, Israeli FM Eli Cohen visits Kyiv, meets Kuleba amid military aid pressure

In the most high-level visit from Israel ever since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Kyiv and met with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba. Cohen is also expected to hold a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who recently finished off his Europe visit with hopes to receive jets to fend off Russia from its territory.The Israeli FM kicked off his visit from Bucha.

Bucha, a Kyiv suburb, became the centre of international attention last year when hundreds of slaughtered bodies were found in a mass grave there. Zelensky had termed it a "genocide" and a "most terrible war crime". Many drew comparisons of Bucha's mass graves with the atrocities killings in World War II.

After visiting Bucha, he said, "We cannot remain indifferent to these difficult images and to the stories of atrocities which I heard here. Israel condemns any intentional attack on innocent people."The Israeli Foreign Minister visited Ukraine after wrapping up his Turkey visit. Cohen left Turkey for Poland from where he took an overnight train along with his delegation from the Polish border city of Przemysl to Kyiv.

As per media reports, details of Cohen's trip were not disclosed citing security reasons. The visit only came to the fore once the Israeli foreign minister arrived in Kyiv.

"I came to say: Israel stands by Ukraine and by the Ukrainian people in their difficult time," Cohen tweeted. In a statement, Cohen said the Israeli embassy in Kyiv "will return to continuous activity, with the aim of strengthening relations between the countries."

Later, in a press conference with Kuleba, Cohen said, “Israel stands firmly in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and remains committed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."

Israeli has been treading cautiously when it comes to taking sides. The country has maintained neutrality. Initially, Israel sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, however, it stopped short of providing any military support to Kyiv in its fight against Moscow.

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