Ukraine has begun offering its expertise in countering Iranian drones to US allies in the Gulf, President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed. He said the US had specifically requested Ukrainian assistance in defending against Shahed drones, which have proven difficult to intercept without specialized knowledge and weapons.

Zelensky emphasized that any support would only be provided if it didn't weaken Ukraine's own defenses and could yield diplomatic benefits. The Ukrainian leader has been reaching out to Gulf states including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait, promising "concrete steps" to help protect their military bases and civilian infrastructure.

Ukraine faces its own shortages of air defense systems, having already used about 800 Patriot PAC-3 missiles in recent days. Zelensky has suggested a potential swap arrangement, offering Ukrainian interceptor drones in exchange for more Patriot missiles to defend against Russian ballistic threats. Ukrainian defense industry officials say they could scale up interceptor drone production to 10,000 per month, though training partners in effective air defense use would present significant challenges.