President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered Middle Eastern leaders Kyiv’s drone know-how in exchange for pressuring Moscow towards a month-long ceasefire in Ukraine.
Speaking to Bloomberg on Monday, Zelensky said Kyiv could send specialists to help take down Iranian drones raining down on Middle Eastern capitals following US and Israeli strikes on Iran if they can help secure a ceasefire in Ukraine.
“I would suggest the following: Leaders of the Middle East have great relations with Russians,” Zelensky told Bloomberg News by phone. “They can ask Russians to implement a month-long ceasefire.”
“We will send our best operators of drone interceptors to the Middle East countries,” he said, adding the duration of the ceasefire – be it two months or two weeks – would allow Ukraine to dispatch specialists to help the Middle Eastern nations “protect civilians.”
On Saturday, Zelensky said Russia has fired more than 57,000 Iranian-designed Shahed-type drones over the four years of war and went on to call for regime change in Tehran.
Hours before unidentified drones struck a British base in Cyprus, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said London would help Middle Eastern nations quell the drone threats with “experts from Ukraine,” though Zelensky said he hadn’t received any direct requests for drone assistance at the time.
Western powers have failed to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine despite year-long efforts led by the US under President Donald Trump. Moscow has repeatedly avoided compliance, including proposing a Kyiv-Moscow negotiation in Istanbul in May 2025 when Europe issued a ceasefire ultimatum, and later during the Alaska summit with Trump in August.