Ukraine is expected to receive Israeli technology via Slovenian tanks
With the arrival of 28 M-55S tanks from Slovenia that include an upgrade from Elbit Systems, an Israel-based international defense company, it appears that Israeli technology will play a part in Ukraine’s fight against the invasion from Russia for the first time. This is due to the fact that the tanks were manufactured by Elbit Systems.
In a recent announcement made earlier this week, Slovenia stated that it will be trading the tanks with Germany as part of a larger arms transaction. The cars were manufactured in the Soviet Union in the 1960s, and Elbit is said to have made improvements to them in the 1990s, according to accounts in Israeli media.
As the country with the largest economy in Europe, Germany is under intense pressure to sell tanks to the Ukrainian government. In the past, Germany has fulfilled this obligation by working with third parties, such as the Czech Republic, Greece, and Slovakia. This Monday, the German Minister of Defense Christine Lambrecht made the announcement that Slovenia will exchange the tanks for 40 German military trucks in exchange for sending them to Ukraine.
Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February, the Israeli Defense Ministry prevented the country’s military industries from selling heavy weaponry to Ukraine in an effort to avoid antagonizing Russia, which is an important factor in Israeli security in the Middle East. This was done in order to avoid antagonizing Russia, which is an important factor in the situation in Ukraine.
Uzi Rubin, a former director of the Missile Defense Organization within the Israeli Defense Ministry, added that in general, foreign countries that buy Israeli defense systems and armaments are required to get permission from the Israeli Ministry of Defense before selling or transferring the equipment purchased in Israel to third parties. This was stated by Rubin during his time as director of the Missile Defense Organization within the Israeli Defense Ministry.
Keep Reading
On the other hand, it is unknown whether or not Slovenia obtained approval from the Israeli government before concluding the deal with Ukraine.
According to Dr. Eyal Pinko, a retired Israeli naval captain who is an expert in intelligence, cybersecurity, and national security, much is dependent on the contract that was signed between Israel and Slovenia during the Elbit upgrade that took place in the 1990s.
In the event that it turns out that Slovenia is in fact in violation of that agreement, Pinko stated that “it is a serious problem and Israel can proceed with them to the International Court.”
On the other hand, he does not believe that this will be the case, despite the fact that the agreement was broken.
According to Pinko, the agreement between Berlin, Kyiv, and Ljubljana calls for Slovenia to dispose of its aging tanks in exchange for Germany providing the country with more modern vehicles and canons.
However, Rubin noted that Ukraine is asking for much more serious cooperation from the Israeli military, which he stated he is “not convinced is going to happen in the near future.”
Pinko concurred with this assessment and added that Israel is still very anxious about what Russia might do in a scenario of this nature. He stated that Russia is a very important role in the military arena in the Middle East, primarily in two aspects, and that these two elements are as follows:
According to Pinko, the first facet is associated with Iran’s nuclear program, and the second is the engagement of Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria, both of which have a substantial Russian presence.
