Zelenskiy Seeks Middle East Support, Offers Drone Expertise in Talks with UAE and Qatar

KYIV, March 3 (Reuters) – In a diplomatic push aimed at broadening international backing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy held talks on Sunday with two key Gulf leaders, the United Arab Emirates' President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The discussions centered on the escalating threat of Iranian drone and missile strikes in the Middle East and Ukraine's potential role in countering them.

Zelenskiy, whose forces have developed significant battlefield experience against sustained Russian aerial assaults involving Iranian-made drones, positioned Ukraine as a potential security partner for the region. "We discussed how we can help in this situation and support the protection of lives," Zelenskiy stated on social media platform X following his call with the UAE president. "It was agreed that our teams will work on this."

In a subsequent post after speaking with Qatar's emir, Zelenskiy added that their teams would remain in contact to "determine how we can jointly provide greater protection to people."

The outreach comes amid signals from Kyiv that it is prepared to send drone warfare specialists to assist Middle Eastern allies, contingent on those partners helping to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine's war with Russia. Officials have also floated the possibility of a direct exchange: Ukrainian interceptor drones to help repel Iranian attacks for advanced air defense missiles from regional allies.

Analysts view the move as a strategic effort to reframe Ukraine's global role from a recipient of aid to a provider of specialized military knowledge, while simultaneously seeking to fracture the tacit neutrality some Gulf states have maintained towards Russia's invasion.

Expert & Public Reaction:

"This is pragmatic statecraft," said Markus Bergmann, a security analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations. "Zelenskiy is leveraging Ukraine's hard-earned, real-world defense expertise to create new diplomatic leverage and potentially access needed weapon systems."

"A desperate and revealing gambit," countered Anya Petrova, a political commentator based in Warsaw. "It underscores the dire state of Ukraine's air defenses and the West's failure to provide them sufficiently. Now we're bartering drone pilots for missiles?"

"It shows how modern warfare creates unexpected partnerships," noted David Chen, a fellow at a Singapore-based think tank. "The battlefield in Ukraine has become a laboratory, and its lessons are now a potential export."

"Solidarity with nations facing similar threats is a moral imperative," added Fatima Al-Mansoori, a university student in Abu Dhabi. "If they have knowledge that can save lives here, we should welcome the collaboration."

The proposed exchanges remain at a preliminary stage, with no formal agreements announced. The development highlights Ukraine's ongoing struggle to secure sustainable support and its adaptation to a protracted war of attrition, now seeking to turn its defensive experience into diplomatic capital.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Ros Russell and Alex Richardson)