Ukrainian delegation visits Israel

Senior Ukrainian officials arrived in Israel on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing negotiations with Russia, in the first such visit since Prime Minister Naftali Bennett launched his mediation efforts between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, Report informs via Haaretz.

The visit was planned during Tuesday's round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul, which represent the first direct peace talks between the sides in more than two weeks.

Israeli and Ukrainian sources told Haaretz that the delegation would hold meetings with Israeli officials on cease-fire talks and Israel's policy on Ukrainian refugees. Israeli diplomatic sources said they also expect the Ukrainians to reiterate their request for ammunition and defense equipment from Israel.

The delegation is led by Sergey Shefir, a top presidential aide and close confidante of President Zelenskyy. Shefir will be joined by former ambassador to Israel Hennadii Nadolenko and Jewish lawmaker Olga Vasilevskaya-Smaglyuk later on Wednesday.

"We would like to touch upon the whole range of issues. Our goal is to properly facilitate communication while considering Israel's stance," Vasilevskaya-Smaglyuk told Haaretz.

The delegation is expected to meet with Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, although plans for the meeting have yet to be finalized. They are also set to meet with other senior Israeli officials, and possibly Prime Minister Bennett as well.