"Ukraine and Israel are two fortresses of democracy in our area, but the cooperation between the two countries should be much more close than it is today," Ukrainian MP Oleksii Goncharenko told The Jerusalem Post in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
Throughout the conversation, Goncharenko highlighted the need for strengthened bilateral ties, not just in political matters but also in terms of media strategy, cultural heritage, and even trade.
One area for strengthened cooperation is within the political sphere. For example, Ukraine is hosting the third Black Sea Security Forum in May 2026 and wants Israel to attend to increase connections between the Black Sea and the Middle East.
"The first thing is that Ukraine and Israel face a very similar threat, with exactly the same enemy," he said. "It's the same axis, it's the same allies, Iran, Russia, all these proxies of Iran." He noted that on the day he left for Israel, his hometown of Odessa was attacked by Iranian drones. The same thing happened on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.
"It shows us how close we are. Israel can learn from Ukraine what will be used against it, and we can learn from Israel what will be used against us."
For Goncharenko, the similarities between the two countries are striking: "we are two fortresses of democracy and human rights in their area," he told the Post. "To the east of Ukraine, there is no more democracy. East to north to south from Israel, there is no democracy. So you are your fortress here, we are fortress there."
"There is this conflict between democracies and autocracies. And in this war we will be together."
Goncharenko encourages Israel further diplomatic efforts
Goncharenko is vocal in his support for the Jewish state. He represents Ukraine in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and "always supports Israel there." However, he believes Israel needs to make efforts in Europe also.
"Unfortunately, Israel is losing the informational war in Europe, and it's not good." Part of this comes down to the fact that Israel has invested so much of its energy in its relationship with the US, to some extent neglecting its relations with the EU, which is also an important ally.
"The United States is a superpower, a very powerful country, so this is very important. But Europe is also important. And it's much closer."
He sees Israel's focus on the US as a somewhat shortsighted strategy. He pointed out that things can change rapidly in the US, especially in terms of politics, and the allyship Israel receives now may not be there in five years.
"Who would have said several years ago that the mayor [elect] of New York will have views like we see now, what will be in five, 10 years?"
While both Ukraine and Israel are somewhat lacking a strong enough state strategy when it comes to the information war, Goncharenko pointed out that much of the important media work has been done by Ukrainians themselves, something he recommends Israelis do too.
"When I spoke to Israelis about Europe, people were offended, saying, 'we remember Holocaust, we saw what happened on October 7th and so on, and how they couldn't understand.' And they are angry about that. But it doesn't help. You still need to speak with people, you need to explain. You need to go to social media, not with accusations that everyone else is the bad guys because that closes doors; Nobody wants to hear that they are stupid, bad and so on. But instead from the perspective of 'let us explain,' 'let us show you.'"
Of course there are those who will never be interested in dialogue or learning, but there are still many who are, said Goncharenko.
"They need to be explained about who started it, what's going on, how the [Gazans] are used as human shields. It's not an easy job, but it should be done."
Goncharenko argued that people in Israel are too concentrated on internal affairs and less on what's happening in the rest of the world.
"But if you're not interested in what's going on there, you don't know how to speak with these people. You don't know what to tell them and you don't understand them," he said.
Ukraine, on the other hand, has been super invested in Europe from the start of the war with Russia, entering into dialogue and attending events, conferences, and meetings.
"I send messages to the Israeli embassy. I send messages to some people whom I know to invite them to forums in Ukraine. Nobody came."
The Post also asked Goncharenko for his thoughts on the media and public comparisons between Russia/Israel and Gaza/Ukraine. Frequently in the media and social media, Gaza is posited as 'the Ukraine' of the Middle East.
"It's absolutely misleading," said Goncharenko. "It's very clear who started the war; Russia attacked Ukraine, Hamas attacked Israel."
"It's this leftist parallel trying to show, like, maybe like suffering, that Ukrainian people are suffering, Gaza people are suffering. But the thing is, what is the cause of suffering? Why are people suffering? I always explain in parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe that it's completely opposite [of what people think]. And again, who is fighting for democracy? Who is democracy? Ukraine is a democracy. Russia is not. Israel is a democracy. Hama, Iran, Hezbollah, not democracy. They are not democracies at all. Where are human rights? Here they are, there they are not. Where are women's rights? Here they are, they are not."
"Ukraine is protecting Europe from that threat, Israel is protecting Europe from this threat because they're not going to stop in the Middle East. If they are successful in the Middle East, they will go further and further. They like geopolitical maniacs. They need to expand."
Therefore, this is not a parallel made by Ukrainians themselves, Goncharenko told the Post. He also pointed out that Ukraine is the only country in Europe where there were no anti-Israel rallies during these two years of war.
That's not to say Ukranians don't possess frustration towards Israel. "We are saying, why Israel is not helping us more, why we don't have more cooperation?"
Goncharenko hopes that focus can shift to ending Ukraine war
Now with the war somewhat ended in Israel, Goncharenko hopes that the focus can be shifted to achieving an end to the war in Ukraine. He believes Ukraine will have to concede some of its territories to Russia in order to end the fighting. "It's a painful reality for us but we are ready to accept it. We want to freeze the war, and it's our best option."
"We saved Ukraine because Russia tried to wipe us from the map. But now with each day the war continues we are losing people, we are losing time. We need our own repatriation [millions of Ukrainians are currently living abroad]. The sooner we end the war, the better for us." He also sees it likely that Ukraine will join the EU in the near future.
And then, as mentioned, it will be time for more positive cooperation with Israel, especially given the strong cultural and historical links between the two countries. During his visit to the Israeli Knesset, Goncharenko met people who said they were from Lviv, Dnipro, and Kyiv, including politicians. He himself founded and runs the biggest network of educational cultural centers in Ukraine. The centers are also the biggest teachers of foreign languages in Ukraine, and he wants to start offering Hebrew courses, free of charge.
"We are ready to give the possibility for people to learn Hebrew, but maybe somebody will need our help to learn Ukrainian here, and we will be absolutely happy about this. Also from a geopolitical point of view, Israel can help us with the United States and we can help Israel with Europe. We can be your ambassador there and your defender there inside the European Union.
"It's in our common interest to cooperate," he concluded.