Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wants Israel to stoop "balancing" its relationship between his nation and Russia.

His comments came Wednesday during a video link interview at The New York Times DealBook Summit.

"Of course we are waiting for support from Israel for our country," he said, according to the Times. "We don't want them to continue balancing between Ukraine and Russia in this war."

And he noted he has talked with Benjamin Netanyahu, who is set to become prime minister again.

Zelenskyy added: "If he just wants to maintain his personal relations with [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin, then of course he may continue to do what he has been doing, The Times of Israel reported. "But if he wants to maintain the historical relationship between Israel and the Ukrainian people, then I think you need to do whatever you can in order to save as many people as possible."

The newspaper reported that Netanyahu in the past has played up his relationship with Putin and even included the Russian president in campaign materials in previous elections.

But the it said he has sounded more critical of Putin recently.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine is waiting for support from Israel for his country. Netanyahu "knows this very well, he knows every detail, and he certainly can help us with air defense systems."

The paper said Israel's decision not to send weapons to Ukraine is viewed as an attempt to maintain a working relationship with Russia. Russia controls Syrian air space, where Israel has carried out sorties against Iranian arms shipments.

"Our people are fighting for our shared values, for freedom and democracy, not just in Ukraine but in the whole world," Zelenskyy said. "Because if Ukraine does not stand through this war, the war will spread to other territories and maybe even to other continents."

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