The Russian Embassy in Egypt slammed Prime Minister Yair Lapid over Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip on Aug. 9. The embassy accused Lapid of hypocrisy for firing at Gaza while condemning Russia's military actions in Ukraine. 

In a statement posted on its social media accounts, the embassy showed a screenshot of a tweet Lapid posted April 3 on the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, attributed to Russian forces. Lapid wrote at the time, “It is impossible to remain indifferent in the face of the horrific images from the city of Bucha near Kiev, from after the Russian army left. Intentionally harming a civilian population is a war crime and I strongly condemn it."

Chastising Lapid, the embassy argued, "Compare Yair Lapid's lies about [Ukraine] in April and attempts to place blame and responsibility on [Russia] for the deaths of people in Bucha brutally murdered by the Nazis with his calls in August for bombing and strikes on [Palestinian] land in the Gaza Strip. Isn't that double standards, complete disregard and contempt for the lives of Palestinians?"

The Russian Embassy in Israel did not share the post. Still, this was not Russia’s only reaction to Operation Breaking Dawn. Already on Aug. 6, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a written statement, “We are observing with profound worry how events are evolving,” calling “on all the parties involved to show maximum restraint.” She continued, “The new escalation was caused by Israeli army firing into the Gaza Strip on Aug. 5, to which Palestinian groups responded by carrying out massive and indiscriminate bombardments on Israeli territory.”