Ukraine has sent air defence specialists to help several Middle Eastern countries deal with drone attacks linked to Iran, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine has deployed three professional teams to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. These teams undergo training to identify and thwart drone threats to cities and critical infrastructure. He said the specialists are fully equipped and should all arrive at their locations during the week.
Recently, countries in the Gulf region have deployed a significant number of costly air-defence missiles to intercept drones suspected to have originated from Iran. Because these missiles are costly and supplies are limited, some governments are now looking for other ways to stop the attacks, such as employing drone countermeasures or enhancing surveillance systems to detect and neutralise threats before they reach their targets.
Ukraine has gained a lot of experience defending against drones during its war with Russia. Every night Ukrainian forces face waves of drones and missiles, and they have developed different methods to destroy them. These include electronic jamming systems and smaller, cheaper interceptor drones.
Zelenskyy did not reveal many details about the teams or their exact roles. However, he said Ukraine’s trained drone operators and software systems play a crucial part in making interceptor drones work effectively. He added that several countries that bought these systems quietly in the past now understand that skilled Ukrainian operators are needed for them to work properly.
A communications adviser to the Ukrainian president also said Ukrainian experts have already been sent to a U.S. military base in Jordan, although no further information was given.
Kyiv Uses Its Experience
Ukraine is now trying to use its battlefield experience to build close defence cooperation with other countries. Since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on February 28, Kyiv has highlighted its knowledge of dealing with Iranian-designed Shahed drones.
Ukraine says Russia has launched more than 57,000 of these drones during the war. Many of them are based on Iranian designs that Moscow now produces itself, which has raised concerns about the proliferation of drone technology and its implications for regional security.
Last week reports suggested the United States and Qatar are considering buying interceptor drones from Ukraine because they are far cheaper than using missiles to destroy incoming drones.
When asked what Ukraine would receive in return for sending its teams abroad, Zelensky said his country urgently needs more air defence missiles. Ukraine has warned for months that it is running low on these weapons, especially those used by the US-made Patriot defence system, which can intercept ballistic missiles.
The conflict involving Iran has also affected diplomatic efforts related to the Ukraine war, as tensions in the region have complicated negotiations and diverted attention from the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Zelenskyy said a new round of peace talks involving Russia and Ukraine, organised by the United States, has been delayed until next week.
He added that Ukraine wants further exchanges of prisoners of war and discussions about a possible meeting between himself, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
