Israeli forces are training their Ukrainian counterparts to deploy the Red Color (“Tzeva Adom”) early-warning alert system, according to Ukrainian media reports.
The system is designed to detect incoming missiles and drones, and track their trajectories, so that sirens can be sounded in locations under threat.
The training is reportedly taking place in Poland.
“As we speak, the Israeli and Ukrainian militaries are working together to implement our warning system, which will save the lives of civilians in Ukraine,” Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen was quoted as saying.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniichuk said that the systems would be deployed in a pilot test covering a large city such as Kyiv. If successful, the defensive system would be set up across Ukraine, according to the reports.
Korniichuk added that the system is the same one that has long been used in Israel, with adaptations based on Ukraine’s particular requirements.
Red Color identifies incoming projectiles and drones and tracks their trajectory using radar. In this way, the system calculates which areas are in danger and how long people have to take refuge, and sends out alerts through an app.
Kiyv had asked Jerusalem for the civilian defense system ever since Russia invaded in February 2022, and while the previous Israeli government promised to provide it, Korniichuk last month credited Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s personal involvement in speeding up the process.
Israel is currently sending Ukraine defensive and intelligence-gathering equipment as well as humanitarian aid.
The Jewish state has denied Ukrainian requests to supply offensive arms for fear of upsetting Moscow. Russia remains the major military force in Syria, where Israel continues to conduct airstrikes against Iranian terrorist assets.
Earlier this year, depots in Israel storing U.S. munitions were tapped in order to help Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion. The depots are officially designated as U.S. military storage facilities and as such are considered to be on American soil.
The understanding between Jerusalem and Washington over many decades has been that the munitions would be given to Israel in times of emergency, for example if the Jewish state faced a major attack on the scale of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. JNS
