Ukraine Is Gradually Becoming a Security Power in the Middle East

Since late March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made several working visits to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Türkiye, and Syria. For official Kyiv, these were practically historic visits: never before had Ukraine maintained such close contact with Middle Eastern countries. The purpose of the visits is also significant: this was not about friendly “photo ops,” but concrete action. With some of these countries, Zelenskyy signed long-term 10-year agreements, laying the groundwork for both defense and energy partnerships.

The security dimension

For the first time in Ukraine’s history, Kyiv can become a defense partner to Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Riyadh. At the invitation of Middle Eastern capitals, more than 200 Ukrainian specialists were sent to these countries to help defend the region against raids by Iranian Shahed drones. After four years of full-scale war and terror from Russia, Ukrainian troops know better than anyone else how to defend against drones, especially given their effectiveness — more than 89% of all targets intercepted. There is no real comparison: during the winter of 2025–2026, Moscow launched 19,000 drones at Ukraine. No country other than Ukraine has faced anything like that.

As a result, Ukraine invented a new way to defend against Shaheds—interceptor drones. This is an entirely new type of weapon conceived and developed by local engineers. Ukraine has always said that, for all the help its partners provide, it is ready to give back with what it has. In this case, that means experience and knowledge: at the invitation of European countries and Gulf states, Ukrainian specialists traveled abroad to train the air defense forces of other armies worldwide.

In the future, deeper cooperation is planned in the defense sphere—joint ventures, training, and the sharing of experience.

“Our goal is absolutely clear: stability and peace are needed in Europe, stability and peace are needed in the Middle East and the Gulf, just as they are needed in other globally important regions, so that the world does not face such problems because of destabilized markets, destroyed energy systems, disrupted shipping, nuclear threats, or food insecurity,” Zelenskyy said.

Security issues were also discussed in Damascus at a trilateral meeting involving representatives of Syria, Ukraine, and Türkiye. Ukraine is ready to help both on food security and defense matters, drawing on the substantial experience it has gained in recent years.

New allies

The Ukrainian delegation’s historic trip to the Middle East and Ukraine’s growing involvement in the affairs of Gulf countries mark an unprecedented shift in recent months. Türkiye has supported Ukraine from the very beginning of the invasion, including with Bayraktar drones, and it is one of the first countries to begin building new production facilities here. Damascus only recently rid itself of Assad’s dictatorial regime. Middle Eastern countries had worked with Ukraine in the humanitarian sphere, helping return children abducted by the Russian regime to their homeland. The years of war changed everything.

“Today, many different countries want to cooperate with Ukraine as a security partner,” Zelenskyy said. “We are open to cooperation with all those who support our sovereignty, our independence, and respect our people.”

Ukraine is the only country in the world with combat experience in a real 21st-century war, one shaped by new technologies and changing faster than any war has ever changed before. In 2022, a Mavic drone was carrying out reconnaissance missions in the Kyiv region. Today, more than 33,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded specifically by drones, and 1,000 kilometers from its own border, Ukrainian drones are disrupting 40% of Russian oil exports.

The reality is that Ukraine is not fighting Russia alone—it is standing against Russia which has rallied Belarus, North Korea, and Iran around itself. Ukrainian cities are being attacked precisely by Shaheds—Iranian drones that Tehran has been kindly selling to Moscow since 2022 in exchange for nuclear technology and much-needed money. It is a unique situation: knowing how to fight Russian troops, Iranian drones, and North Korean artillery all at once.

And everything the Gulf countries are facing, Ukraine has already dealt with: massive bombardments, ballistic missiles, drones, strikes on energy infrastructure, and other critical facilities. Iran threatens to destroy water desalination plants, while Russia has already destroyed one of Ukraine’s largest dams—the Kakhovka dam—and flooded dozens of towns and villages, bombed Ukrainian cities, and left them without heat in temperatures of −20°C (−4°F). Terror in its worst form.

That is why Ukraine knows well what it can offer its new and longstanding partners, and how to properly build a security dimension in the format that exists today—hundreds of drones flying simultaneously from different directions.

Partnership with Syria, which just a year ago was one of the Kremlin’s strongest allies, is also a defining moment for both Ukraine and Europe. It represents a potential energy route from the Middle East to Türkiye and onward to the European continent. Ukraine, meanwhile, continues to be a partner in food supply, one of the valuable players in food security—something it has emphasized throughout the years of the full-scale war—as well as a partner in other areas.

A critically important point is the format of this partnership. Unlike Russia’s policy, Ukraine has no military interests in the Middle East, Türkiye, Africa, Europe, or any other region. While the Kremlin is a partner in endless wars across Africa and supplies Iran with intelligence data for strikes on American bases in the Middle East, Ukraine is ready to trade, seek mutually beneficial partnerships, and help with defense and expertise. It is a reliable security partner, and any agreement with it comes with no hidden pitfalls.

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