Putin issues first comments on attack on Israel

Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first comments on the recent attack by Hamas on Israel during talks in Moscow with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani on Oct. 10.

During the meeting, which was filmed by Russian state-owned media, Putin claimed that the situation was "a clear example of the failure of U.S. policy in the Middle East."

Putin alleged that the U.S. has not taken into account "the fundamental interests of the Palestinian people," adding that it is necessary to create an "independent sovereign Palestinian state."

This requires the implementation of "the decisions of the UN Security Council" on the matter, he said, without specifying which decisions he was referring to.

The Palestinian armed group Hamas launched an attack of unprecedented scale on Israel on Oct. 7, using missiles and soldiers who infiltrated Israeli territory. As of Oct. 10, more than 900 Israelis and almost 700 Palestinians have been killed, and thousands more wounded.

There is a large Ukrainian community in Israel, estimated by Ukraine's Foreign Ministry as being around 500,000, most of whom left Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The vast majority of them are Jews from Ukraine.

In addition, some 15,000-40,000 Ukrainian refugees have entered Israel since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. It is unclear what their status is, or how many have stayed in the country.

Two Ukrainians have been killed, the Ukrainian embassy in Israel told news agency Interfax-Ukraine on Oct. 8.

Around 450 Ukrainians remain in Israel and Gaza, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said on Oct. 10.

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