Zelenskyy told reporters that three teams were sent to the Middle East to conduct expert assessments and demonstrate how drone defenses should operate.
Zelenskyy had told the CNN in an interview excerpt aired on Saturday that Russia is supplying Iran with Shahed drones to use against the US and Israel.
For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
He told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that it is “100 percent facts” that Iran has used Russian-made Shaheds to attack US bases.
Shahed drones have been linked to other attacks on countries in the region, although their manufacturers are not always clear.
Iran pioneered the Shahed drone, a much cheaper alternative to expensive missiles. They first saw mass use in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where thousands of them have been launched by Russian forces since fall 2022, according to the Ukrainians.
Although Iran initially provided the drones, Russia now manufactures its own Shaheds. The armed forces of other countries have since adopted Shahed-type drones, including the US military, which has said they are part of the current campaign against Iran.
Zelenskyy also said that he did not know why Washington had not signed a major drone deal which Kyiv has pushed for months, and that he was unsure whether it would be agreed at all.
“I wanted to sign a deal worth about 35–50 billion dollars,” he said.
He also hit out at some Ukrainian companies and foreign governments, which he did not name, who he said had sought to do deals for anti-drone equipment without approval from Kyiv.
Peace talks affected
Zelenskyy raised concerns about the effect of a protracted Middle Eastern conflict on Ukraine’s own supplies of air defense missiles.
“We would very much not like the United States to step away from the issue of Ukraine because of the Middle East,” he told reporters.
The latest round of peace talks between Moscow, Kyiv and Washington, which had been due to take place in the UAE, was postponed after US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran triggered a war in the region two weeks ago.
Zelenskyy said Washington had suggested meeting in the US for talks next week, but that the Russian side did not want to meet there.
“Either they will change the country where we meet, or the Russians must confirm (a meeting in) the US,” he said.
On the battlefield, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s military believed a Russian spring offensive had “already failed,” as Moscow had planned for it to be fully underway already.
Translate This Article
