Soldiers walk past a destroyed Russian tank and armoured vehicles, amid Russia’s invasion on Ukraine in Bucha, in Kyiv region, Ukraine April 2, 2022. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Defense Minister Benny Gantz suggested on Monday that Israel’s condemnation of Russian war crimes committed in Bucha, Ukraine, would not compromise its ability to carry out strikes against Iranian-backed targets in Syria.

“We will continue to operate anywhere in the Middle East where we need to act,” Gantz told Israel’s Kan public radio, when asked whether Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s denouncing Moscow will impact Israeli freedom of action or coordination with Russia in Syria.

Gantz’s comments came after Lapid on Sunday night described the “horrific images” of civilian killings in Bucha, outside Kyiv, which emerged after the Russian army left, as a “war crime” that Israel “strongly” condemns.

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the Jewish state has sought to mediate between the two sides, having vested interests and good relations with both countries. Israel has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine and accepted refugees, but has declined to provide military aid and sought to avoid jeopardizing its ability to conduct operations in Syria against Iranian targets, which depend on coordination with Moscow.

“I condemn murder of this kind, it really is a war crime,” Gantz said. “Also in times of war, we need to make sure we adhere to values called morality in fighting. Unfortunately, civilians may be harmed in combat, but they cannot be murdered during the fighting. This is something that looked very serious.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba referred to the Bucha “massacre” — documented in images and videos showing a mass grave and tied bodies shot at close range — as a “deliberate” act, showing that “Russian hatred towards Ukrainians is beyond anything Europe has seen since the Second World War.”

While Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman joined officials in commenting on the scenes emerging from Bucha — saying that “we all condemn any war crimes” — he asserted that Russia and Ukraine have been exchanging “mutual accusations.”

“There are two sides here,” Lieberman, who was born in Moldova when it was part of the Soviet Union, told Israeli army radio. “Ukraine blames Russia and Russia blames Ukraine.”

“What we need to understand here that there is a bloody war, and we need on the hand, maintain Israel’s moral stance, and on the other hand protect our interests,” he added.

The comments drew an angry rebuke from Yevgen Korniychuk, Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, who issued a statement to respond to Lieberman “questioning those who are responsible for Bucha massacre.”

“I invite Mr. Lieberman to come to Ukraine,” the statement read. “We will take him with a convoy to Bucha and to other places where he can see for himself the bodies of civilians and meet the women who were tied up and raped. Maybe then he will know what happened.”