- January 28, 2026
- 7:20 pm
- Israel
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Gideon Sa’ar, on January 28, 2026, made a public statement after a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Sybiha. The address was published on his official accounts and became one of the clearest diplomatic signals from Israel regarding the war in Ukraine in recent times.
According to Gideon Sa’ar, during the conversation, he expressed Israel’s solidarity with the people of Ukraine and directly condemned Russian attacks against civilians. Sa’ar emphasized that strikes on civilian targets are unacceptable and expressed hope for reaching an agreement to end the war soon.
A separate block of the conversation was the topic of Iran. The head of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the brutal crackdown by Iranian authorities on their own population with the participation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps one of the darkest episodes in the history of Iran and humanity as a whole. In this context, he requested the Ukrainian side to consider recognizing the IRGC as a terrorist organization at the parliamentary level.
Sa’ar noted that Israel views the actions of the Iranian regime not only as internal repression but also as a factor of regional and global threat, directly linked to wars and destabilization in the Middle East and beyond.
“Today I had an important phone conversation with my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. During the conversation, I expressed our solidarity with the people of Ukraine and condemned Russian attacks against civilians. I expressed hope that an agreement to end the war will be reached soon. We also discussed Iran’s brutal crackdown on its own people with the participation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — one of the darkest events in the history of Iran and all humanity. I emphasized the request for the Ukrainian parliament to recognize the IRGC as a terrorist organization. We agreed to maintain close contact.”
The information about the conversation was also confirmed by the Israeli ambassador to Ukraine. According to him, the phone contact took place at the initiative of the Ukrainian side and was substantive and work-oriented. Israeli diplomacy emphasizes that such contacts have become regular against the backdrop of the ongoing war.
In the statement distributed through diplomatic channels, key formulations are repeated: solidarity with the people of Ukraine, condemnation of Russian attacks on civilians, hope for a swift end to the war, and discussion of Iran’s role and the IRGC in suppressing its own people.
Context and significance
This conversation fits into a broader line of Israeli diplomacy, where the Ukrainian direction is increasingly linked with the Iranian theme. For Jerusalem, Iran remains a strategic threat — both to Israel and to regional stability, and its actions within the country and beyond are viewed as a unified contour of violence and export of instability.
The maintenance of “close contact,” as agreed by the ministers, indicates Israel’s intention to remain engaged in dialogue with Kyiv — without loud gestures, but with a clear fixation of principled positions.
Sa’ar’s formulations are important not only as a diplomatic statement but also as a signal to international partners: Israel publicly condemns attacks against civilians and links the war in Ukraine with the broader context of global threats emanating from Iran and its power structures. NAnovosti — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency
