Ukraine has sent a team of drone experts and interceptor drones to the Middle East to help protect U.S. military bases in Jordan from Iranian drone attacks. Ukrainian specialists departed the day after the United States requested assistance.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed this in an interview with The New York Times.
Details
Zelenskyy said the United States asked Kyiv for help on March 5. The Ukrainian team left for the region the very next day.
“We responded immediately. I said: yes, of course, we will send our experts,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine supplied interceptor drones. It also deployed specialists who will help defend U.S. military bases in Jordan from Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles. Another group of Ukrainian experts may also travel to the region soon.
Zelenskyy added that after the start of the war between the United States and Israel against Iran, leaders from several Gulf states also asked Ukraine for assistance. These countries include Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
Kyiv is also considering exchanging its interceptor drones for air defense systems or ammunition needed to protect Ukraine from Russian ballistic missiles.
Context
Ukraine has gained extensive experience countering Iranian Shahed drone attacks. Russia frequently uses these drones in strikes against Ukrainian cities. Western media report that Ukraine’s counter-drone system destroys most of these targets using much cheaper interceptor drones. These are used instead of costly missiles from systems like the Patriot missile system.
Amid the war in the Middle East, several regional countries have already used hundreds of Patriot missiles to intercept drones and rockets. This situation has increased interest in Ukrainian counter-drone technologies.
Earlier, The Ukrainian Review reported that authorities in the United Arab Emirates discovered wreckage of drones marked “Geran-2,” reportedly shot down by air defenses during a large Iranian attack on Dubai.
