Zelenskiy says Ukraine wants money, technology in return for Middle East drone help

KYIV, March 15 (Reuters) – Ukraine is asking for money and technology in exchange for helping Middle Eastern countries defend against Iran’s kamikaze drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, after Kiev sent experts to four countries in the region.

Each of the three teams sent to the Middle East consists of dozens of people who will conduct expert assessments and demonstrate how drone defenses should work, Zelenskiy told reporters for publication on Sunday.

Gulf states have spent large amounts of air defense missiles to counter Iran’s drones and have sought Ukraine’s expertise to shoot them down. Kiev has been shooting down Russian drones every night using a range of weapons, including cheaper, smaller drones or jamming equipment.

Almost a dozen countries around the world have asked Ukraine for help on how to combat these attacks, Zelenskiy said.

He said ​earlier this week that teams had been sent to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, while another official said specialists had also been to a US military base in Jordan.

Zelenskiy said, “This has nothing to do with participating in operations. We are not at war with Iran.” he said. “This is about protection and a comprehensive, complete assessment on our part about how to counter the Shaheeds,” he added, referring to Shahid drones developed by Iran.

What Ukraine will receive in return for aid still needs to be discussed, he said.

“To be honest, both technology and finance are important to us today.”

Zelenskiy also said he was unsure whether Ukraine and the United States would sign an agreement on drone cooperation, which Kiev has been trying to agree on for months.

(Reporting by Max Hunder and Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)