Kiev: Fighting between Iran and Israel could deflect global attention from the Russian incursion into Ukraine and even bolster Kremlin’s war effort, Ukrainian officials have said. “For Ukraine, the challenge is the price of oil, because if prices remain high for a long time, the Russians will earn more,” a senior Ukrainian political source said.

According to TRTworld.com, Israel launched a massive bombing campaign on Iran last week that prompted Tehran—a close ally of Russia—to strike back with missiles and drones. The conflict has pushed up the price of oil, which is a key revenue stream funding Russia’s incursion. The possibility of weaker support and attention from Washington, however, concerns Kiev. The administration of US President Donald Trump, Israel’s closest ally, has made it clear that its security priorities are the Middle East and Asia, with Europe lower on the list.

This shift in focus could mean further Russian advances on the battlefield or deadly aerial attacks will meet with a muted reaction from a White House that already sees the Ukraine conflict mainly as a European problem. Kiev’s efforts to lobby for more support from Washington have been complicated by tense relations between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leader. Zelenskyy recently conceded to journalists that the war between Iran and Israel carried risks for Kiev. “No one is claiming to have a relationship more important than America and Israel, but we would like to see the aid to Ukraine would not be reduced because of this,” he said, noting that it was a factor that slowed down assistance to Ukraine.

In an interview with US media, Zelenskyy said at the beginning of this month that Washington could send “20,000” missiles needed by Ukraine to shoot down Russian drones to the Middle East instead. Senior officials in Zelenskyy’s office said after the outbreak of the war in Gaza that it had spurred Ukraine to focus on developing its own arms industry. Russia has rained down thousands of drones and missiles on Ukraine since it launched its military operation early in 2022, including Iranian-made and -designed projectiles.

Israel has claimed to have attacked production sites in Iran, which has also launched silos of missiles at Israel that now cannot be sent to Russia for attacks on Ukraine. “Let’s hope that the corresponding production or transfer (of weapons) to the Russians will decrease. This helps Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. The British Defence Ministry stated that Iran’s supply of weapons to Russia could slow as a result of Tehran’s war with Israel. However, it noted that global focus on the Middle East could overall help Moscow. “Russia almost certainly perceives some benefit in the conflict as it distracts international focus from its war against Ukraine,” it said on social media. Moscow also produces its own drones and missiles, and has received projectiles from North Korea.