Mar 08, 2026
Ukraine will send its first group of military experts to the Middle East next week to assist Gulf countries in countering Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on March 8.
According to Ukrinform Zelenskyy announced the deployment during a press conference in Kyiv with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, confirming that Ukrainian specialists will travel to the region to provide military expertise and practical assistance against drone attacks.
The president said the teams would include experts and military personnel with experience defending Ukraine against Shahed-type drones used extensively by Russia during the war.
“I think next week, when the experts are on the ground, they will look, assess, and help, because they are going with the capabilities to assist right away,” Zelenskyy said.
According to Ukrinform, several groups of Ukrainian specialists are expected to be deployed to the region. Their role will include advising local defense forces on countering unmanned aerial threats and sharing operational experience gained during years of large-scale drone attacks against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said the initiative followed a request from the United States, which asked Ukraine to help partners in the Middle East defend against Iranian-made drones.
“Ukraine has expertise and experience. All countries recognize that this is the largest experience today, and we have the relevant production. We must share this experience with our close friends and partners in Europe,” Zelenskyy said.
The president also confirmed that Gulf states have shown interest in acquiring Ukrainian anti-drone technologies, including interceptor drones designed to destroy Shahed-type loitering munitions. According to Zelenskyy, Kyiv is ready to export certain systems provided they are not required by Ukrainian forces.
“We are ready to sell the volume that our forces do not use,” Zelenskyy said.
He added that Ukraine expects the cooperation to become mutually beneficial, noting that both Ukraine and Gulf states face shortages of certain military capabilities and could support each other in addressing these gaps.
The deployment comes amid growing concerns about the threat posed by Iranian drones in the Middle East. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Kane told lawmakers during a closed briefing that Iranian drones have become a larger operational challenge than initially expected and that US air defense systems cannot intercept all incoming drones.
Earlier, the United Kingdom deployed elite counter-drone specialists from the 12th Regiment of the Royal Artillery to the Middle East to help defend military bases from potential Iranian drone attacks, according to The Telegraph. Many of the soldiers previously trained alongside Ukrainian forces and studied battlefield tactics used to counter Russian drones during Russia’s war against Ukraine.