Ukraine is already helping its partners defend against Iranian Shahed drones. More than 200 Ukrainian military experts are working in countries in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf.
This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a speech in the British Parliament on March 17.
According to him, there are currently 201 Ukrainians in the region, with another 34 ready for deployment. These are specialists with experience in defending against Shahed drones. Ukrainian teams are already working in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia and are heading to Kuwait.
The President noted that these experts were sent at the request of partners, particularly the United States, and this is part of the drone agreement that Ukraine proposed to the U.S.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is ready to offer similar cooperation to other partners—ranging from practical collaboration in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles to future defense alliances.
He also noted that Ukraine has learned to effectively counter drones. According to him, a single Iranian Shahed costs about $50,000, while partners often use missiles costing up to $4 million or combat aircraft to destroy it.
“In Ukraine, we take down one such drone with two or three interceptors. Small ones, costing less than $10,000 in total. So our approach is far more cost-effective than anything our partners are using today,” Zelenskyy emphasized.
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine can produce at least 2,000 such interceptors daily and supply another 1,000 per day to allies.
He stressed that the key is to create a defense system, not just individual assets, and called on partners to cooperate more closely in the security sphere.