Michael Podolek, Zelensky’s spokesman, met with a delegation of ultra-Orthodox journalists and addressed the burning issues in the background of the war | He promised: “We were wrong, we will stop the votes against Israel in the UN” | He emphasized: “We want to see Netanyahu” | “Bennett’s story is not true – under no circumstances was he an intermediary”
Michael Podolek, the spokesman for President Volodymyr Zelensky, and who is considered the most powerful man in Ukraine after the president himself, met today (Thursday) with a delegation of ultra-orthodox journalists from Israel and the United States for a briefing, at the initiative of the adviser to the president on Jewish affairs, Rabbi Hillel Cohen. The adviser was asked about the manner of voting in Ukraine at the United Nations, and said that he knew it was a mistake to vote against Israel: “We had different relationships with countries in the European Union, and we worked according to those countries, we are a new country, so there were mistakes, but it won’t happen again, I make sure of it, we We will stop the votes against Israel, you will see a significant change in our votes at the UN very quickly.”
Regarding the publication that Ukraine wants to see Prime Minister Netanyahu on a visit to Kiev and is disappointed that it is not happening, the adviser said: “Of course we want to see him, we want to see every influential figure, it is important that as many leaders as possible come here, and Netanyahu is one of the people we want to see.” According to him, “Israel’s influence is important: “You see a big difference between Netanyahu’s Israel and Lapid and Bennett’s Israel, there is a huge change, you see that Netanyahu is the prime minister, we will see more changes later on.”
Regarding Bennett’s words that he received a promise from Putin not to harm Zelensky, the adviser said: “He was not and was not created, from the first day Zelensky conducted himself independently, he took videos from the second day of the Russian invasion, as everyone saw, Bennett’s story is not true, maybe he did some phone calls, but in no case was he an intermediary.”
Hana referred to the change that has taken place in his personal life since the beginning of the war and said that he does not see his wife and children, but according to him “now is not the time to think about it or cry about it, now the war must be won, then there will be enough time to cry and complain.”
The consultant added: “It is more difficult for me with the dead Ukrainians, the soldiers and the civilians who were killed, I have to take my difficulties in proportion, the difficulties of the families who have been killed are much more difficult than my personal situation, it is not comparable at all.”
Regarding the reports that China is planning to help Russia with armaments, he said: “We have not seen such assistance, we have not seen Chinese weapons with the Russians, the Chinese do not like to help dead people, and the Russians are considered “dead” from the point of view of the Chinese, so from this point of view at the moment we have not seen anything special.”
The counselor said that he himself values the Jewish people very much today. According to him, Zelensky’s influence on Ukraine in terms of being Jewish is enormous: “Zelensky is a leader, he is not afraid of anything, he is an inspiration, my appreciation for Israel and the Jewish people is enormous, my opinion is completely different, and of course the stories of Russia that we are Nazis, they are false, it is an invention of the Russians to discredit us.”