“What is happening today around Iran is not a distant war for us, because there is cooperation between Russia and Iran,” the president noted.
Zelensky emphasized that even large oceans or distances are not able to protect against modern threats of war.
“Balistic missiles can hit targets thousands of kilometers away, drones can do the same. The modern evolution of war overcomes any distance on earth: no ocean, desert or mountains can protect from danger,” the president emphasized.
He also added that the regimes in Russia and Iran are “brothers in arms and hatred.” Therefore, it is important not to remain indifferent and help people who suffer from war and aggression.
“We strive to ensure that regimes built on hatred never win,” the president added.
Context
On March 2, Zelensky said that he could send the best Ukrainian specialists to the Middle East if the leaders of the region convince the illegitimate president of the aggressor country of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to agree to a month-long truce in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In an interview with Rai Italia published on March 5, the president also informed that Ukraine is receiving requests from partners in the Middle East, as well as Europe and the United States, to provide expertise in the fight against Iranian Shahed kamikaze drones used against civilian targets. At the same time, Zelensky recalled that the war continues in Ukraine itself and the country has a shortage of PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot air defense system.
On March 8, Zelensky announced that the first group of Ukrainian military personnel was heading to the Middle East to train Gulf countries to counter Shahed drones. The head of state also said that a number of countries have expressed a desire to buy interceptor drones from Ukraine.
On March 14, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, Ibrahim Azizi, said that Ukraine had become a “legitimate target” for Iranian attacks because of its assistance to Israel in countering Iranian Shahed drones.
