Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in London on March 17.Suzanne Plunkett/The Associated Press
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday made unannounced visits to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, as Ukraine seeks to use its drone expertise to help Gulf Arab states blunt Iran’s attacks during the war in the Middle East.
Zelensky said that Ukraine has already signed 10-year security agreements with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and expects to shortly finalize a similar agreement with the UAE.
Ukraine has quickly grown into one of the world’s leading producers of cutting-edge, battle-tested drone interceptors that are cheap and effective. They are playing a key part in its defense against Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022.
In return for its aid to Gulf countries, Ukraine is seeking more high-end air-defense missiles that they possess and that Kyiv needs to counter Russia’s attacks. On Thursday, Zelensky visited Saudi Arabia, and last week, he said that Ukraine is looking into whether it can play a role in restoring security in the Strait of Hormuz.
Zelensky tours Gulf Arab states
On Saturday, Zelensky and Emirati state media reported on a meeting between the Ukrainian president and his Emirati counterpart, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to discuss regional security amid the Iran war.
Later that day, Zelensky posted on X to say he had arrived in Qatar.
“Real security is built on partnership, we value everyone and remain open to supporting all those who are ready to work together for this goal,” he wrote alongside a video of himself disembarking a plane and shaking hands with Qatari officials.
FILE PHOTO: QatarEnergy's liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facilities, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar March 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File PhotoStringer/Reuters
The war in the Middle East erupted on Feb. 28 when the United States and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran. The Islamic Republic retaliated with strikes against Israel and the Gulf Arab States and the blockading of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway. The war has upended global travel and sent oil prices soaring as its economic fallout extended well beyond the region.
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Last week, Zelensky revealed that Kyiv is helping five countries — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan — counter Tehran’s drone strikes on their territory.
“For Ukraine, this is also a matter of principle: terror must not prevail anywhere in the world. Protection must be sufficient everywhere,” he said on X following his meeting with the Emirati leader.
He added they had discussed “the security situation in the Emirates, Iranian strikes, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which directly affects the global oil market”.
Ukraine’s Mideast alliances
Zelensky told reporters that his government is seeking to build long-term strategic ties with Middle Eastern countries, including joint production, investment, energy cooperation and the sharing of battlefield experience.
“Simple sales do not interest us,” he said at a live briefing held on Zoom.
While Ukraine remains short of high-end air defence systems, such as Patriot missiles, Zelensky said that Kyiv has developed an “integrated” defense model that effectively protects against Iranian-made Shahed drones.
Tehran sent large numbers of the attack drones to Russia early in the war. Since then, Moscow has modified them to improve their effectiveness, begun domestic production, and repeatedly launched the drones in waves at Ukrainian cities.
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Zelensky said that Ukraine is offering Gulf Arab partners “combat-tested” expertise, and has already signed 10-year security deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He didn’t specify what the contracts involve, but said that he expects a similar agreement with the UAE to be finalized shortly.
Zelensky said that Ukraine had received “no signals” from the U.S. about potential diversions of weapons, including those funded by Kyiv’s European partners, from Ukraine to the Middle East.
His comments followed weeks of speculation that the Iran war could detract attention from Ukraine, deplete Western arsenals and force NATO allies to reduce military support for Kyiv.
Russia is already profiting from a surge in global energy prices, brought on by damage to oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf and Iran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil choke point.
Drone attacks in Ukraine and Russia
Russia launched more than 270 drones at Ukraine overnight, killing at least five people, Ukrainian authorities reported on Saturday.
Two people were killed and at least 11 more were wounded in a nighttime Russian drone strike on Odesa, according to the head of the region, Serhii Lysak. According to Lysak’s Telegram posts, the attack damaged a maternity hospital and private houses in the major Black Sea port city.
Zelensky said that the “massive” strike on Odesa involved more than 60 drones.
Russia’s overnight strikes also killed two men and wounded two other people in Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky’s hometown in central Ukraine, after a drone hit an industrial facility, regional head Oleksandr Gandzha said in a Telegram update. He didn’t specify what the industrial building was.
One person was killed overnight in the Poltava region, also in central Ukraine, as Russia struck industrial sites there, regional authorities reported on Saturday. Ukrainian state gas company Naftogaz said that a production facility was hit.
According to Ukraine’s air force, Russia launched 273 drones at Ukraine during the night, 252 of which were downed or electronically jammed.
In Russia, a child died after a Ukrainian drone hit a private house in Russia’s western Yaroslavl region, local Gov. Mikhail Evraev reported early Saturday. According to Evraev’s Telegram post, the child’s parents were hospitalized with serious injuries after the attack.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that 155 Ukrainian drones were shot down during the night over Russia and the annexed Crimean Peninsula.