Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday amid a wider effort to lend Ukraine’s drone defense expertise to the U.S. and Gulf States.
Zelensky had offered his country’s expertise in defense against kamikaze drone attacks, cultivated in its grinding war against Russia, just days after the war began. These promised personnel arrived in the Middle East recently, with Zelensky saying last week that 201 personnel had been deployed, and another 34 were on their way.
Drones were at the top of the agenda of Zelensky’s visit. In a post on X, he stated that “important meetings” were scheduled and touted Ukraine’s support for the Gulf States.
“Ukraine’s contribution to security in the Middle East and the Gulf will also be a real contribution to global security,” he said. “This matters because energy security — and the cost of living, particularly in Europe — depends on their oil, gas and other resources, and stable global markets.
“The key is not only producing new weapons — especially drones — not just technology, but also real experience in using it, and integrating it with radars, aviation, and other air defense systems,” Zelensky said. “We have this experience.”
Speaking last week, the Ukrainian president said his country’s anti-drone experts were already deployed to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia and would soon be in Kuwait. The four have been the worst hit by Iran’s drones in the current war.
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Moscow obtained the design of Iran’s Shahed drone early in the war, modifying and upgrading it into its own Geran drone. Russia’s much larger industrial output and technical expertise have allowed it to far surpass the scale and effectiveness of Iran’s Shaheds, but the weapon has proved its worth in strikes on critical and defense infrastructure across the Gulf states.
The Shaheds are cheap and low-flying, making them difficult to intercept. They’re also easier to hide and launch, allowing Iran to continue its drone salvos even as its military capabilities are heavily degraded. Washington has scrambled to try to find a way to properly respond to the attacks, and its ally Ukraine is one of the few countries with the necessary expertise.