Russia is behind the latest Hamas attack on Israel, former president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has claimed.
Poroshenko, who continues to serve as a representative in the country’s parliament, told Euractiv that he was “convinced” Moscow had a hand in the assault via its Wagner Group mercenary paramilitary organisation.
“I’m absolutely convinced that there is Russian interest, Russian hands, in the preparation of the Hamas terror attack on Israel,” he said.
“I know the signature of Wagner from their attacks in [Ukrainian cities] Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, Soledar, Bakhmut. This is exactly Wagner tactics.
“I’m absolutely sure that the Russian Wagner instructors in Syria were transferred to Hamas in Gaza and participated in the training of terrorists to prepare the absolutely barbaric attack on Israel from the Gaza strip,” he went on to say.
According to the publication’s report, Poroshenko presented no hard evidence to support his claim.
Robert Fico, the leader of Slovakia’s left-wing Smer party, has said that he would rather see his outfit thrown out of the European Parliament’s Socialist group than support Ukraine in its struggle against Russia. https://t.co/VVxWXhRNsc
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 4, 2023
The former president’s allegations of Russian involvement come at a difficult time for Kyiv.
Having already experienced a growing degree of hesitancy among European lawmakers regarding the provision of support for its fight with Russia, the conflict in Israel has taken much of the spotlight away from the country despite the continued presence of Russian troops there.
European politics as a whole may also be shifting away from supporting Ukraine.
Robert Fico, the allegedly Moscow-leaning leader of the Socialist Smer party in Slovakia, looks set to be confirmed as the country’s next prime minister. He has secured a coalition deal between Smer, the populist Slovak National Party and the social democratic Hlas party.
Fico has previously vowed to maintain his anti-Ukraine war stance no matter the consequences, saying he would not abandon the position even if it meant his party was thrown out of the S&D Group in the European Parliament.
The US is seeing its ammunition caches start to grow thin as it is asked to support both Israel and Ukraine simultaneously, though officials have insisted that the US is up to the task.
“We can do both and we will do both,” said defence secretary Lloyd Austin.
“We’re going to do what’s necessary to help our allies and partners, and we’re going to also do what’s necessary to make sure that we maintain the capability to protect our interests and defend our country.”
The arms industry needs to ramp up weapons and ammunition production because of depleted stocks due to the war in Ukraine, NATO Military Committee head Admiral Rob Bauer said on Tuesday. https://t.co/Yt3zJUFWt3
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 5, 2023
