“For Assistance in the Defense of Kyiv”: Israeli Ambassador Michael Brodsky received an award from the capital of Ukraine

On June 4, 2026, the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, met with the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, who is completing his diplomatic mission in the country, and presented him on behalf of the capital with the badge “For Assistance in the Defense of Kyiv“. This was reported by the Kyiv City Administration.

For the Israeli audience, this news is important not only as a diplomatic gesture. Kyiv publicly recognized the Israeli ambassador not for protocol statements, but for concrete assistance to the city during the Russian war against Ukraine: medical equipment, food for military needs, support for children with disabilities, and the launch of a psychological resilience system.

Klitschko awarded Brodsky at the Kyiv City Hall

The meeting took place at the city hall. Vitali Klitschko thanked Michael Brodsky for the efforts he made to support Kyiv and its residents “in this difficult time for Ukraine.” The wording of the award in Ukrainian is the badge “For Assistance in the Defense of Kyiv.” In essence, it is “for assistance in the defense of Kyiv,” not just abstract gratitude for humanitarian aid.

Brodsky himself noted in his publication that five years ago, when he arrived in Ukraine, he could not imagine that one day he would receive an award for the defense of Kyiv. For him, the very combination of these words seemed like something that remained in the history of World War II.

“Honestly, five years ago, when I arrived in Ukraine, I could not even imagine that one day I would receive an award for the defense of Kyiv. The very combination of these words seemed like something that had forever remained in the history of World War II.

During this time, we managed to implement many important projects together — the supply of medical equipment to children’s hospitals, the provision of water and generators to the city, the creation of the Resilience Center, through which thousands of Ukrainian psychologists have been trained.

Thank you to Vitali Klitschko and Kyiv for the many years of support for Israel, especially after October 7, when the Israeli flag appeared on billboards throughout the city“, – said Michael Brodsky.

But after February 24, 2022, the defense of Kyiv became not a historical term, but a reality again.

And that is why this award has a double meaning: it speaks both of the role of Israeli diplomacy in Ukraine and of how Russia’s war against Ukraine has changed the very nature of international support.

What exactly did Brodsky do for Kyiv

Klitschko listed several specific areas of assistance.

In 2022, Michael Brodsky transferred modern medical equipment worth over 40 million UAH to one of Kyiv’s children’s hospitals. This is an important detail: it was not a symbolic gesture, but assistance for city medicine at a time when Kyiv was living under the threat of new Russian strikes and preparing for a long war.

Also, from the Embassy of Israel in Ukraine, Kyiv received 50,000 ready-to-eat meal packages with heating elements. The city transferred these packages for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In 2023, Kyiv received 30 active wheelchairs for children with disabilities. For a warring country, such supplies often remain outside the headlines, but they show that support is measured not only by weapons or political statements.

Resilience Center: Israeli experience for the Ukrainian capital

A special place in Klitschko’s message was occupied by the Kyiv Resilience Center. According to the mayor, the first such center in Ukraine was opened in April 2023 with the personal support of the Israeli ambassador.

Here, Israeli experience proved particularly important. Israel has lived for decades under conditions of rocket threats, terrorist attacks, evacuations, mobilizations, and constant pressure on civilian infrastructure. Ukraine, after Russia’s full-scale invasion, faced a similar challenge, but on a different scale: hundreds of cities, millions of people, constant strikes on energy, hospitals, schools, and residential areas.

According to Klitschko, thanks to the Israeli Trauma Coalition, about 12,000 specialists have undergone psychological resilience training over three years. Among them are representatives of critical infrastructure, security and defense, social policy, education, healthcare, municipal security, as well as heads of homeowners’ associations.

This is no longer just a humanitarian project.

This is the transfer of practical Israeli knowledge into the Ukrainian reality: how to help people after shelling, how to work with trauma, how to support those who must support others.

Why this is important for Israel

For Israel, the story of Brodsky’s award sounds particularly strong after October 7. The ambassador himself thanked Kyiv and Vitali Klitschko for the many years of support for Israel, separately recalling that after the Hamas attack on Israel, the Israeli flag appeared on billboards throughout Kyiv.

There is an important political and human line in this.

Ukraine, which itself lives under Russian missiles and drones, publicly supported Israel at a time of heavy blow. The Israeli ambassador, in turn, was recognized by Kyiv for helping the city, which has become one of the symbols of resistance to Russian aggression.

NANews Israel News Nikk.Agency considers this story not as an ordinary diplomatic ceremony, but as an episode of a broader connection between Israel and Ukraine. Here stand side by side two traumas, two wars, two experiences of civil resilience — Ukrainian and Israeli.

Moshe Asman previously received a similar award

There is another important context in this story. Previously, for actions during the defense of Kyiv, the chief rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Asman was also recognized.

On July 20, 2023, NANews Israel News Nikk.Agency wrote that in Kyiv, Asman was awarded a special medal for “heroism in the defense of Kyiv.” The publication stated that the award was given for his activities and heroism during the defense of Kyiv and the Kyiv region during the Russian siege. The medal was presented by Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Kopashinsky, who commanded the defense of the capital in the first months of the war.

However, it is important not to confuse these awards.

Michael Brodsky has a city award from Kyiv by Vitali Klitschko: the badge “For Assistance in the Defense of Kyiv.” Moshe Asman had a similar in meaning, but different award — for heroism in the defense of Kyiv and the region.

The commonality here is not the name of the award, but the symbolic series.

Kyiv separately recognized people from the Jewish-Israeli space who, at different periods of the Russian war, helped the capital, its residents, hospitals, military, refugees, and those who were under attack.

Award as the result of a diplomatic mission

Michael Brodsky is completing his diplomatic mission in Ukraine at a time when relations between Israel and Ukraine remain complex but filled with real connections. Kyiv’s political expectations from Israel did not always align with the cautious line of Israeli governments, especially on military aid issues.

But at the level of cities, communities, hospitals, volunteers, psychological assistance, and human contacts, the connection turned out to be much deeper than the dry formulations of foreign policy.

This is what makes Brodsky’s award noticeable.

Kyiv recognized not only the ambassador as an official figure. Kyiv recognized the person under whom specific projects were implemented: equipment for a children’s hospital, food for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, assistance to children with disabilities, the Resilience Center, and the training of thousands of specialists.

For Israel this is a reminder: the Ukrainian war is not a distant story “somewhere in Eastern Europe.” It constantly intersects with the Israeli agenda — through diplomacy, Jewish communities, repatriates from Ukraine, the memory of World War II, the experience of civil defense, and support after October 7.

For Ukraine, this is also a signal.

Even if there are complex issues between the states, the concrete assistance of Israel and Israeli representatives in Kyiv has become part of the history of the capital’s defense.