Ukraine Sends Drone Experts to Gulf

Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has sent specialized air defense teams to several Gulf states to assist in countering aerial threats linked to Iran.

Zelensky told reporters that three professional and fully equipped teams were dispatched to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

“Regarding the situation in the Middle East, we have sent our teams: three professional, equipped teams,” Zelensky said, adding that all of them were expected to be operational within the week.

Ukraine’s communications adviser also said Ukrainian specialists had already been deployed to a U.S. military base in Jordan, though no further details were provided.

Ukraine has gained extensive experience in defending against attack drones during the war with Russia, where Iranian-designed Shahed drones have been widely used.

According to Kyiv, Russia has launched more than 57,000 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine since the start of the conflict. Ukrainian forces have developed methods to intercept them using air-defense systems, electronic jamming and smaller drones.

Zelensky said the presence of Ukrainian pilots and operators is essential for interceptor drone systems to work effectively.

The Ukrainian leader said Kyiv is seeking additional air defense missiles in exchange for its assistance, citing ongoing shortages of munitions for Patriot missile system batteries.

Ukraine has repeatedly warned that it faces critical shortages of air defense ammunition, particularly for systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.

The conflict involving Iran has also affected diplomatic developments related to Ukraine. Zelensky said a new round of peace talks mediated by Washington between Russia and Ukraine had been postponed to next week.

He added that discussions could include further prisoner exchanges and the possibility of a meeting involving himself, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin.