Polish President Andrzej Duda believes the extremist group Hamas' attack on Israel will aid Russia in its war against Ukraine as it draws away attention from the conflict, he said on Polish television.
"This certainly helps Russia and Russian aggression against Ukraine, it distracts the world's attention," he said.
Hamas launched an attack of unprecedented scale on Israel on Oct. 7, infiltrating Israeli territory on the ground and with ultralight aircraft while bombing Israeli settlements.
At the time of this publication, fighting in Gaza was still underway.
Politically, Israel has largely refrained from explicitly backing a side in Russia's war on Ukraine, and has thus far not provided any significant military aid to Ukraine.
Israel has complex relations with Russia but has long been enemies with Iran, a shared adversary of Ukraine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued his first public statement after the attack, saying, "Citizens of Israel, we are at war. And we will win."
Ukrainian President Volodmyry Zelensky denounced Hamas' offensive, writing on Telegram, "Whoever uses terror is a criminal against the whole world. Whoever sponsors terrorism is a criminal against the whole world."
Nate Ostiller
