Israel gets involved in diplomatic solution to Russia-Ukraine, vows 'unprecedented' aid

The president of Israel says his country is attempting to help push for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine and is offering up assistance to achieve that goal.

Following talks earlier this week between President Isaac Herzog and his counterpart in Cypress, Israel has announced it will send an "unprecedented amount" of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Three flights left Israel on Monday and Tuesday carrying medical supplies, systems that can provide safe water, and winter gear. In total, Israel has sent 100 tons in aid. 

President Herzog called the decision a "moral obligation" that arrives following a missile attack on the Babi Yar Holocaust memorial in Kyiv that he said "epitomizes the huge pain and suffering of people there" and the "terrible tragedy that we’re seeing unfolding in front of our eyes."

Israel, according to its president, is contemplating more ways to offer support to the Ukrainian people as the continue to endure Putin's invasion. 

Israel, at the moment, is in the relatively rare spot of having a good working relationship with both Kyiv and Moscow. Its response to the conflict has, therefore, been measured, and on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to intercede with Russia on Ukraine's behalf.

Bennett, over the weekend, called Putin to offer up Israel as a negotiator between the two countries – an offer with which Putin was reportedly not pleased.