President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is ready to share its maritime security expertise to help protect navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, as the United Nations prepared to discuss an international response to the worsening crisis in the strategic waterway.
In his nightly video address on April 2, Zelensky said Ukraine had relevant experience in defending shipping routes in the Black Sea during more than four years of war with Russia. He pointed to Ukraine’s efforts to keep sea lanes open and to develop technologies such as sea drones, presenting that know-how as potentially useful for countries seeking to restore safe passage through Hormuz.
Zelensky’s offer came after Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha joined a virtual meeting of about 40 countries focused on reopening the strait, one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints. The discussions formed part of a broader diplomatic push, led in part by the UK and backed by Arab states, to secure commercial shipping without triggering a wider regional escalation.
Zelensky also said that Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, would present a detailed report on April 3 covering this week’s work with countries from the Gulf to Turkey.
At the same time, the UN Security Council has been preparing to vote on Friday on a Bahrain-drafted resolution authorizing the use of “defensive” force to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attacks, according to AFP. The text, supported by the US, went through several amendments ahead of the vote.
Iran has tightened its grip on the key shipping lane in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that triggered the month-old Middle East war, threatening fuel supplies and rattling the global economy. Bahrain’s UN ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei said the resolution came at “a critical juncture.”
“We cannot accept economic terrorism affecting our region and the world – the whole world is being affected by the developments,” Alrowaiei said.
The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows, making any disruption a major threat to global energy markets and trade. Zelensky, who recently toured Gulf states, has sought to position Ukraine as a contributor to regional security by offering battlefield-tested drone and maritime expertise developed during the war with Russia.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that countries facing fuel shortages should “go get your own oil” in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that US forces would not help them, AFP reported.
Zelensky said he expected further updates soon from Ukraine’s negotiating team following his recent Middle East contacts, which included outreach to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, and Turkey.