After the large-scale aggression against Ukraine, the bloody events in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, constant shelling of Kharkiv, Odesa, Kherson and Kyiv, the Kremlin calls the retaliatory strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine as “terrorist attacks.” His own opponents of the government, such as O. Navalny and I.Yashin, one also classified as “terrorists”.
But after Hamas militants launched a brutal unexpected attack in which the last Israeli civilians were killed or kidnapped, Russia stopped short of condemning the Palestinian militant group, instead calling what happened a “spiral of violence”, pointing the finger at the West.
“We are extremely concerned,” Kremlin press secretary Dmytro Peskov said during a daily briefing with journalists.
“We believe that the situation should be brought to a peaceful path as soon as possible, since the continuation of such a spiral of violence threatens the further escalation of the conflict,” said Peskov.
In a separate statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated: “Russia is seriously concerned about the sharp escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”
Russia’s carefully crafted response reflects decades of diplomacy in which the Kremlin has sought strong ties with Israel while supporting Palestine and courting groups such as Hamas whose stated goal is Israel’s destruction.
The latest Russian statements, made after a stunning militant attack that prompted Israel to impose a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launch a ground operation, also reflect how President Putin’s war in Ukraine is defining all of Russia’s foreign policy – even away from the battlefield.
Moscow is now heavily dependent on Iran, a longtime patron of Hamas, for drones and ballistic missiles used to attack Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations on Monday denied Tehran’s involvement in the coordinated attack, insisting the “response” was “exclusively carried out by Palestine itself.”
But it also said the attack was “in line with the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people.”
Meanwhile, revealing another connection to the war in Ukraine, former Russian President Medvedev claimed on Telegram on October 9, without providing evidence, that Ukraine had given Western-supplied weapons to Hamas that were used to attack Israel.
Medvedev’s claims came shortly after the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine issued a public statement warning that Russia was planning just such a disinformation operation.
“Weapons handed over to the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine are actively used in Israel,” Medvedev wrote.
“Later, like the weapons left behind by fugitive Americans in Afghanistan, they will be used unchecked in all the hot spots.”
The reaction in Moscow on October 9 was a mixture of high-pitched calls for diplomacy – in which Russia presented itself as a reliable mediator – and jubilant applause for the Hamas attack, which was portrayed as beneficial to Russia because it would distract Ukraine’s Western supporters.
During a meeting with the Secretary General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Abul Gheit in Moscow on October 9, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov called for an end to the bloodshed and directly criticized the West for decades of unsuccessful efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“It is necessary to urgently stop hostilities and solve the problem of the civilian population, which is becoming a victim in huge numbers, and pay attention to the reasons why the Palestinian problem cannot find a solution for many decades,” Lavrov said.
“We are ready to do this,” Lavrov continued, “with other countries that are sincerely interested in establishing sustainable peace in the Middle East and ensuring the security of all countries in the region without exception, including the State of Palestine.”
But some Russian politicians and experts have focused on the significance of Russia’s relationship with Iran and described the attacks on Israel as a useful development in the broader struggle between Russia and the United States.
Andriy Gurulyov, a member of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament from Putin’s United Russia party, wrote in Telegram: “Whose ally is Israel? of the United States of America”. “Hamas” ally is Iran and the Muslim world that surrounds it,” Gurulyov continued.
“Our. We have our own goals and tasks that we fulfill. We have to complete our tasks today.”
Russian propagandist and TV presenter Serhiy Mardan wrote: “This porridge is beneficial for Russia, because the globalist frog will be distracted from Ukraine and will engage in extinguishing the eternal fire in the Middle East. Iran is our true military ally. Israel is an ally of the United States. That’s why it’s easy to choose a side!”
As the war in Ukraine stalled last year and the Russian military suffered numerous battlefield setbacks, the Kremlin turned to Tehran for supplies of Shahed attack drones. Russia’s increasingly close military alliance with Iran has caused concern in Israel.
Israel is not the only country whose relations with Russia have soured since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russia has come under heavy criticism from Armenia for its failure to abide by a ceasefire agreement in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Russia’s relations with the countries of Central Asia have also deteriorated.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has strengthened alliances with Iran and North Korea, which could provide weapons for war.
Moscow’s relations with Hamas have been developing steadily for more than ten years, and in recent years the leadership of Hamas has visited the Russian capital several times.
In 2010, when pressed by a journalist about why the Kremlin began meeting more often with the leadership of Hamas, Lavrov said that Russia’s main goal was to help restore Palestinian unity. According to him, Russia recognizes Hamas as a legitimate political player.
“We started meeting with Hamas immediately after the elections in Palestine, recognized by all as free and democratic, in which a large part of the Palestinian people voted for Hamas,” Lavrov said at the time.
“Not only we meet with Hamas,” Lavrov added, “but also many others, including those who consider Hamas a terrorist organization. We just do it openly, but they prefer not to talk about it.”
In recent years, Russia’s contacts with Hamas have increased. Since 2020, Lavrov has hosted high-ranking Hamas officials in Moscow at least five times, including the group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh, the most recent visit in March.
In the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the meeting, Moscow expressed its readiness to “continue to contribute to the overcoming of differences and the convergence of the positions of the leading Palestinian political forces.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s relations with Israel deteriorated. There were expectations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who has historically maintained good relations with Putin – would turn Israel on to Moscow when he returned to government in late December.
Instead, Israel showed more support for Ukraine to consider sending defensive weapons to Kyiv.
Lavrov also drew fire from Israel last year after he criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, who is Jewish, by claiming that Adolf Hitler had Jewish roots – a claim widely believed to be false and led to demands from Israel to apologise.
