Israel blocked Ukraine from buying spyware, fearing Russia’s anger

Revelation of government’s refusal to let Ukraine use Pegasus spyware offers new insight into the complexity of Israel’s relationship with Moscow

ISRAEL BLOCKED UKRAINE from buying NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware for fear that Russian officials would be angered by the sale of the sophisticated hacking tool to a regional foe, according to people familiar with the matter.

The revelation, following a joint investigation by the Guardian and Washington Post, offers new insight into the way Israel’s relationship with Russia has at times undermined Ukraine’s offensive capabilities – and contradicted US priorities.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has been critical of Israel’s stance since Russia launched its full and bloody invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, saying in a recent address before members of Israel’s Knesset that Israel would have to “give answers” on why it had not given weapons to Ukraine or applied sanctions on Russians.

People with direct knowledge of the matter say that, dating back to at least 2019, Ukrainian officials lobbied Israel to try to convince it to license the spyware tool for use by Ukraine.

But those efforts were rebuffed and NSO Group, which is regulated by the Israeli ministry of defence, was never permitted to market or sell the company’s spyware to Ukraine.

FULL STORY Israel blocked Ukraine from buying Pegasus spyware, fearing Russia’s anger (Guardian)

Israel blocked sale of Pegasus spyware to Ukraine, Estonia - NYT (Jerusalem Post)
Israel rejected purchase request for NSO's Pegasus spyware from Ukraine and Estonia out of concern for Israeli-Russian relations, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Ukraine and Estonia both requested to buy the spyware in order to gain access to Russian phones because of tensions with Russia in the past years.