Ukraine's move into the Middle East war. Shahed drone shooting experts sent to three countries
Ukraine has sent air defense teams to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to help them fight Iran's airstrikes, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The Gulf states have consumed large quantities of precious air defense missiles to counter Iran's attack drones and have sought Ukraine's expertise to shoot them down. Kiev shoots down Russian drones every night using a range of weapons, including cheaper and smaller drones or jamming equipment.
“Regarding the situation in the Middle East, we sent our teams: three professional teams, equipped” with appropriate equipment, Zelenski told reporters.
The Kiev leader did not give further details about the teams, but said they should all arrive at their designated venues later this week.
His communications adviser also said that Ukrainian specialists had already been deployed to a US military base in Jordan, without elaborating.
Zelensky noted that the presence of Ukrainian pilots is essential for the effectiveness of drone interception operations.
“Even the countries that were secretly buying interception systems realized, I think, that without our military, our operators, our software… without all of that, the interception systems just don't work,” the Ukrainian president said.
What does Kiev want to get in exchange
Since the US and Israel began airstrikes on Iran on February 28, Ukraine has sought to take advantage of its long experience in combating the Shahed attack drones, designed by Iran and used by Russia.
Kiev says Russia – which now produces them itself – has so far launched more than 57,000 Shahed drones over Ukraine.
Reuters wrote last week that the US and Qatar plan to buy interceptor drones from Ukraine as a much cheaper alternative to the missiles used so far to shoot down the Shahed drones.
Asked what Kiev would get in return for deploying its specialist teams, Zelenskiy said Ukraine was looking for air defense missiles above all else.
Kiev has been complaining for months about the acute shortage of these munitions, especially the US-made Patriot systems, which are Ukraine's only effective tool for intercepting ballistic missiles sent by Russian forces.
The war in Iran has led to the postponement of the new round of Washington-mediated peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Zelenski also told reporters on Tuesday that the next trilateral meeting has been postponed until next week, adding that he wants more prisoner-of-war exchanges and talks about a possible meeting between himself, US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
