Kyiv, March 11, 2026 – The Europe Today: Ukraine has dispatched air defence teams to several Gulf countries to help strengthen their ability to counter Iranian aerial attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had sent three professional and fully equipped teams to assist Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in defending against attack drones and other aerial threats linked to Iran.
“Regarding the situation in the Middle East, we have sent our teams: three professional, equipped teams,” the Ukrainian president said, adding that the specialists are expected to be fully deployed during the week.
A communications adviser to the Ukrainian leader also confirmed that Ukrainian experts had been deployed to a U.S. military base in Jordan, though further operational details were not disclosed.
According to Zelenskyy, the presence of Ukrainian pilots and operators is crucial to the effectiveness of interceptor drone systems.
“Even those countries that were quietly buying interceptors have realised that without our military, our operators and our software, the interceptors simply don’t work,” he said.
Since the United States and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on February 28, Kyiv has sought to leverage its extensive experience in countering Iranian-designed Shahed drones used by Russia during the war in Ukraine.
Kyiv says Moscow has launched more than 57,000 Shahed-type drones against Ukrainian territory since the start of the conflict.
Recent reports have also indicated that the United States and Qatar are exploring the purchase of Ukrainian interceptor drones as a cost-effective alternative to expensive missile systems used to shoot down Shahed drones.
Asked what Ukraine expects in return for deploying the specialist teams, Zelenskyy said Kyiv is primarily seeking additional air defence missiles.
Ukraine has repeatedly warned of critical shortages of such munitions, particularly for the U.S.-made Patriot missile defense system, which remains the country’s most effective tool for intercepting ballistic missiles.
The ongoing Iran conflict has also delayed a new round of peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine brokered by Washington. Zelenskyy said the next trilateral meeting involving himself, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been postponed until next week.
He added that Kyiv hopes the talks will lead to further prisoner-of-war exchanges and discussions on a possible high-level meeting between the three leaders.
