Israel stopped an attempt by the US to transfer Iron Dome missile defence systems to Ukraine in the midst of the escalating tensions with Russia as per reports.

According to renowned Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal, Israel stopped the transfer of its Iron Dome systems to Ukraine to avoid upsetting Russia.

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“In an effort to avoid at all cost, Israeli involvement in the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, Israel refused to sell the Iron Dome missile defense system to Kyiv in order not to annoy the Russians,” wrote Eyal on the website of Ynetnews, one of Israel’s biggest media outlets.

With Russian forces in Syria, Israel has Russia in close proximity, and wishes to preserve its relationship with Moscow, Eyal further wrote.

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According to Ynetnews, Kyiv put in a request with the US for the deployment of Patriot missiles and Iron Dome missile defence systems in Ukrainian territory last spring, long before the threat of a Russian invasion.

However, Israel “informed the [Joe Biden] administration in unofficial talks that it could not agree to such a move given its relationship with Moscow,” reported Ynetnews.

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The news comes at a time when Russia has deployed more than 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s borders, sparking fears that an invasion could be due any time. However, Moscow on Tuesday announced that it had withdrawn some troops from the Ukraine border, where the Kremlin claimed the troops had been posted for “drills.”

The Iron Dome missile defence system was developed jointly by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, along with the Pentagon. Iron Dome batteries are capable of taking out short-range missiles, artillery shells, and rockets fired from distances between 4 kilometres and 70 kilometres.

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The system was deployed in active combat in 2011 near Beersheba in Israel to protect the city against Hamas rockets, and by 2014, reports stated that Iron Dome batteries had intercepted over 1,200 projectiles since deployment.

It has since been a highly sought piece of military hardware.