Last month, Zelenskyy reportedly threw a fit over the fact that the U.S. and allies are shooting down Iranian missiles over Israel but not Russian missiles over Ukraine. “If the allies shoot down missiles together in the sky of the Middle East, why is there still no decision to shoot down drones and missiles over Ukraine?” he said, reported Politico. When U.S. and British air defense systems and fighter planes helped knock down hundreds of Iranian missiles Oct. 1, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said: “We call on Ukraine’s allies to defend Ukrainian airspace with the same determination and without hesitation from Russian missile and drone attacks, recognizing that human life is equally precious in any part of the world.”
The reason why the U.S. acts boldly in Israel and cautiously in Ukraine is clear: Russia is armed with nuclear weapons and Iran isn’t, Politico notes. “The tough answer that Ukrainians may not like to hear but is unfortunately true is that we can take the risk of shooting down Iranian missiles over Israel without triggering direct war with Tehran that could lead to nuclear war,” a senior U.S. Senate aide who works on Ukraine policy told Politico. “There’s a lot more risk in trying that with Russia.”
