Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he has a “very bad feeling” about the impact of the Middle East war on Ukraine, warning it is draining Western weapons supplies and delaying peace efforts.
Now in its third week, the conflict involving Iran, the United States, and Israel has spread across the Gulf, with Tehran striking neighboring states in retaliation.
Zelensky said the fallout is already affecting diplomacy.
“I have a very bad feeling about the impact of this war on the situation in Ukraine. The focus of America is more on the Middle East than on Ukraine, unfortunately,” Zelensky said in an interview with Laura Kuenssberg of the BBC.
“That is why you see our diplomatic meetings, trilateral meetings, constantly being postponed. There is one reason – war in Iran,” he added.
The latest round of talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States was held in Geneva on Feb. 17–18. Another meeting had been expected in early March in Abu Dhabi.
Those plans were disrupted after the United States and Israel launched military action against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering a broader regional conflict.
Zelensky said Ukraine remains ready for a new round of talks, but no venue has been agreed. A meeting tentatively scheduled for March 18–19 is now uncertain after the US side said it would only host talks on American soil due to the Middle East war, while Russia opposes that option.
“Ukraine will support any date and any place, but definitely not in Russia,” he said.
He added that while US President Donald Trump is focused on Iran, contacts between negotiating teams continue.
“Our team speaks with the American side every day. I know the Americans also speak with the Russians every day,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky said the Middle East escalation benefits Russian President Vladimir Putin by driving up energy prices and depleting Western stockpiles.
“For Putin, a long war in Iran is a plus,” Zelensky said. “It means higher energy prices and depletion of US reserves. So we have a depletion of resources.”
Zelensky warned Ukraine faces looming shortages of key air defense munitions, including interceptors for the Patriot missile system.
“There will definitely be a deficit of Patriot missiles. This will be a challenge,” he said.
He noted the United States produces about 60 to 65 Patriot missiles per month – up to roughly 800 a year – compared with what he described as heavy usage in the Middle East.
“On the first day in the Middle East war, 803 missiles were used,” Zelensky said.
Meanwhile, Kyiv has received only about 600 Patriot interceptor missiles over the entire course of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to Dmytro Lytvyn, an adviser to Zelensky.
The Patriot system remains one of the few platforms capable of reliably intercepting advanced ballistic missiles, including those used by Russia in strikes on Ukrainian territory.