In Tel Aviv, the Ukrainian ambassador called on Israel to unite against common threats: behind this phrase already stands Russia-Iran

On August 31, 2026, an official reception was held in Tel Aviv to mark the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. At the event, Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevhen Korniychuk, urged the Israeli side to “join forces” against common enemies and threats, and Israeli Minister Zeev Elkin addressed the guests in Ukrainian.

The diplomatic reception itself could easily have been left in the protocol section. But I, Viktoria Katzman, compared Korniychuk’s speech with what Israel and Ukraine have publicly said to each other in recent months. It turns out to be not a festive formula: the theme of a common enemy is gradually transitioning from Ukrainian statements to official Israeli rhetoric.

If you are looking for what Yevhen Korniychuk said in Tel Aviv on August 31, who represented Israel at the celebration of Ukraine’s Independence Day, and why Russia and Iran appear again in this story, it is important to distinguish three levels: the words of the Ukrainian ambassador, the already officially established dialogue between Israel and Ukraine on the Iranian threat, and specific joint decisions that have not yet been announced.

Main source: publication of the Embassy of Ukraine in the State of Israel from August 31, distributed jointly with the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Tel Aviv.

The reception was on August 31, while Independence Day is on the 24th.

Ukraine celebrates Independence Day on August 24: it was on August 24, 1991, that the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Act of Declaration of Independence. In 2026, it marked 35 years since that date. The diplomatic reception in Tel Aviv took place a week later — on August 31. The 35th anniversary of independence was officially celebrated in Ukraine on August 24.

According to the embassy, among the guests were representatives of the Knesset, the Israeli government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the diplomatic corps, Ukrainian public activists, members of Israeli Friends of Ukraine, and Israelis supporting Ukraine. Fallen defenders of Ukraine were honored with a minute of silence.

Korniychuk reminded that the full-scale Russian aggression has been ongoing for four and a half years, that missiles and drones continue to strike cities and civilian infrastructure, and simultaneously stated: in 2026, Ukraine managed to “bring the war back to Russian territory,” striking strategic targets far from the front line.

Moreover, this statement did not sound in a vacuum. Already on September 1, the day after the reception, another Russian airstrike on Kyiv and the Kyiv region resulted in the death of 12 people. Thus, Korniychuk’s words about ongoing attacks were not an anniversary retrospective but a description of a war that was literally happening at that time.

What do “common enemies” mean if the ambassador did not name them?

In the published text of Korniychuk’s speech, he does not list countries after the words about “common enemies and threats.” Therefore, I will not directly insert names into this quote that are not there.

But the political context here is quite transparent.

On July 23, 2025, Foreign Ministers Gideon Saar and Andriy Sybiha in Kyiv officially agreed to launch a strategic dialogue between Israel and Ukraine on the Iranian threat. Saar then emphasized that Iranian weapons and technologies threaten not only Israel: the same drone technology is used against Ukraine.

In February 2026, a separate Strategic Israel–Ukraine Security Dialogue took place in Tel Aviv. NANews detailed the strategic dialogue between Israel and Ukraine — there, it was not about ceremonial friendship, but about the connection between the security of Europe and the Middle East, defense technologies, and the strengthening of Russian-Iranian cooperation.

In April, Sybiha, after a conversation with Saar, again stated that Ukraine is ready to cooperate with Israel on common security challenges and specifically mentioned threats from Iran. And on July 29, he accepted Saar’s invitation to visit Israel for the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two states.

Therefore, Korniychuk’s phrase is not a declaration of a joint Ukrainian-Israeli front against Russia and Iran. But it is a continuation of the existing logic: Russia is waging war against Ukraine, Tehran has become a military partner of Moscow, and Israel considers Iran one of the main threats to its own security.

The most important thing happened before the reception — in Netanyahu’s letter.

There is a detail without which Korniychuk’s speech on August 31 looks much weaker than it actually was.

On August 24, Benjamin Netanyahu sent a congratulatory message to Volodymyr Zelensky on Independence Day. The letter became publicly known on August 26, when it was published by the Ukrainian president.

And in the document, the Israeli prime minister used a completely direct formulation:

“Our two countries face a common threat from Iran.”

NANews — Israel News separately analyzed Netanyahu’s letter to Zelensky and the important limitation of this story: Netanyahu did not announce a military alliance with Ukraine, arms supplies, a joint air defense system, or any new defense agreement.

But the language itself has changed.

Before this, it was Ukrainian diplomats who were particularly persistent in explaining to Israel why the Russian-Iranian connection concerns both countries. Now the formula “common threat” has already appeared in the document of the Israeli prime minister.

That is why I read Korniychuk’s words at the reception not as an attempt on August 31 to invent a new agenda, but as a public continuation of a conversation that is already ongoing between Kyiv and Jerusalem.

Why Elkin’s speech in Ukrainian is not a decorative detail

The embassy specifically noted that Zeev Elkin addressed the participants of the evening in Ukrainian.

For the Israeli reader, two explanations are needed here immediately.

Firstly, Elkin is not Israel’s finance minister. The finance minister is Bezalel Smotrich. Elkin’s official position is additional minister in the Ministry of Finance; he has held it since November 2024.

Secondly, the Ukrainian language at this event has a biographical dimension for him. Elkin was born in 1971 in Kharkiv, studied at Kharkiv University, and repatriated to Israel in 1990.

He is already involved in the practical Ukrainian-Israeli agenda. On December 4, 2025, in Jerusalem, Elkin, together with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka, co-chaired a meeting of the joint Ukrainian-Israeli commission on trade and economic cooperation. This was the first meeting of the commission since the start of the full-scale Russian aggression; the previous one took place back in November 2021.

So, behind the person who spoke in Ukrainian to the guests on August 31, there is not only a Kharkiv biography but also a specific role in the revived intergovernmental dialogue.

“2000 Meters to Andriivka” already has a separate history in Israel

The second part of the evening was not dedicated to diplomacy. Guests were shown the documentary film by Mstyslav Chernov “2000 Meters to Andriivka” — the story of Ukrainian fighters who, during the 2023 counteroffensive, break through a fortified forest strip to the village of Andriivka occupied by Russian troops near Bakhmut.

And here is an Israeli detail that is not in the usual description of the film.

In 2025, “2000 Meters to Andriivka” won the main prize of the international competition DocAviv in Tel Aviv. Therefore, on August 31, the film effectively returned to the city where it had already received serious professional recognition.

With the “Oscar,” the wording should be kept as accurate as possible. Ukraine indeed officially selected the film as its entry for the 98th Academy Awards in the International Feature Film category. But it did not make it to the 15-film shortlist of the international category.

However, “2000 Meters to Andriivka” made it to the Oscar shortlist for Documentary Feature Film. This is a significant achievement, but a shortlist does not yet mean a final nomination for the award.

But with the “Emmy,” the status is already different. On May 29, 2026, the Associated Press reported that the film won the News & Documentary Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Direction: Documentary. In total, the film received six nominations for this award.

The embassy thanked the film club “Znyato v Ukraini / Created in Ukraine” for organizing the screening, specifically naming Svitlana Kozyreva and Roman Karasyk for promoting Ukrainian cinema in Israel and helping to showcase the film.

What really changed after August 31 — and what is still missing

I would not call this reception “Israel’s turn to Ukraine.” There are no facts for such a conclusion yet. No new arms supplies, joint air defense project, or agreement that would turn political formulations into commitments have been announced.

But the sequence of events is already difficult to consider coincidental.

In July 2025, Saar and Sybiha launch a dialogue on Iran. In February 2026, a strategic security discussion takes place in Tel Aviv. In the spring, Kyiv talks about common threats. In August, Netanyahu himself calls Iran a common threat to Israel and Ukraine. A few days later, Korniychuk in Tel Aviv proposes joining forces against common enemies.

And here appears another layer that is crucial for the Israeli audience. NANews detailed the Russian-Iranian military connection: initially, Iran provided Russia with Shahed and related technologies, then the Russian war against Ukraine became a multi-year environment for testing and improving mass missile-drone attacks.

Therefore, the question “what does Ukraine have to do with Israel’s security?” is becoming less theoretical.

For NANews — Israel News, the next verifiable milestone is already visible: will Andriy Sybiha’s agreed visit to Israel take place, and will practical projects emerge after political words — countering drones, protecting critical infrastructure, civil defense, defense technologies, or exchanging accumulated combat experience.

This will be more important than the diplomatic reception.

On August 31, Kyiv once again formulated the proposal. But after Netanyahu himself called Iran a common threat to both countries, the next question is already addressed to Jerusalem: will this formula remain the language of letters and speeches — or will it become a working policy.