Ukraine demands money and technology in exchange for providing assistance to the Middle East regarding drones

Ukraine wants money and technology in exchange for providing aid to Middle Eastern countries, which are looking for ways to protect themselves from Iranian suicide drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Zelensky told reporters on Sunday that three teams of specialists were sent to the Middle East to conduct expert assessments and show how anti-drone defense should work.

Earlier this week, he said teams had been sent to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as well as to a US military base in Jordan.

"This has nothing to do with our involvement in the operations. We are not at war with Iran," Zelensky said.

He added that more fundamental and long-term agreements on drones could be negotiated with Gulf countries and that it still needed to be discussed what Ukraine would receive in return for this assistance.

"For us today, both technology and financing are important," Zelensky said.

The Gulf states have spent large amounts of anti-aircraft missiles to combat Iran's Shahed drones.

Kiev uses a variety of weapons to shoot down Russian drones every night, including smaller, cheaper drones or signal jamming devices.

Zelensky said that the US, as well as countries from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, have asked Ukraine for help on how to combat these attacks.

However, US President Donald Trump has said that the US does not need Ukraine's help to shoot down the drone.

Zelensky said he did not know why Washington had not signed a major drone deal, which Kiev has insisted on for months, and that he was not sure whether such a deal would be accepted.

"I wanted to sign a deal worth about $35–50 billion," he said.

Zelensky expressed concern about the impact of the protracted conflict in the Middle East on Ukraine's supplies of anti-aircraft missiles.

"We would not want the United States to withdraw from the Ukraine issue at all because of the Middle East," he told reporters.

The latest round of peace talks between Moscow, Kiev and Washington, which were due to take place in the United Arab Emirates, were postponed after US and Israeli air strikes on Iran sparked a conflict in the region two weeks ago.

Zelensky said Washington had proposed holding talks in the US next week, but the Russian side did not want to meet there.

"Either they will change the place where we meet, or the Russians have to confirm (a meeting in) the US," he said.

On the front line, Zelensky said the Ukrainian military believes the Russian spring offensive "has already failed."