Ukraine has signed 10-year defense export agreements with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as Kyiv expands cooperation with Middle Eastern countries on drone warfare and integrated air defense systems.
He made the announcement in an interview with Ukraine’s national telethon “United News” on Sunday, April 19.
“We already have requests from 11 more countries – the Middle East and the Gulf, and we are also gradually looking at the Caucasus,” Zelensky said.
He added that the agreements are part of a broader “Drone Deal” framework that will include at least 10 separate contracts covering exports of Ukrainian weapons, joint production and manufacturing lines in Ukraine and abroad. and cooperation on jointly developed technologies funded by partner states.
“There is an agreement on annual financing for a defined volume and a fixed number of years,” Zelensky said.
The concept, according to the president, was originally developed for the United States but did not move forward.
“We prepared the Drone Deal for the United States, I proposed it to President [Donald] Trump,” he said.
“It’s called Drone Deal, but it includes systemic protection. People used to call it a ‘dome,’ but in modern war it is not just a dome – it is a systemic understanding.”
He said the concept combines drones, protection against mass attacks – especially drone swarms – air defense systems already in Ukraine’s arsenal, and electronic warfare capabilities.
“It is a unique system that exists today only in Ukraine because of this terrible war that Russia is waging against Ukraine,” he said.
Push for drone defense cooperation
The agreements come as Middle Eastern countries face growing drone threats since the US/Israeli - Iran War, including large-scale strikes and retaliatory attacks involving low-cost unmanned systems.
The conflict has highlighted a widening gap in air defense economics: Iranian-style attack drones can cost between $20,000 and $50,000, while interceptor missiles used by Western systems such as Patriot can cost several million dollars per launch.
That imbalance has driven renewed interest in cheaper, layered air defense models.
Over more than two years of full-scale war, Ukraine has built one of the most complex air defense systems in the world, combining Soviet-era and Western platforms with electronic warfare, fighter aircraft, ground-based interceptors, mobile fire groups and drone countermeasures.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said that this experience is directly relevant to defending against Iranian-made drones now used in conflicts in the Middle East.
Zelensky has also pointed to the cost advantage of Ukraine’s approach, saying Ukrainian systems can intercept drones at a fraction of the price of Western interceptor missiles.
Expanding global partnerships
Zelensky also said Ukraine is deepening defense cooperation with Europe, naming Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands as countries already involved in early-stage projects, alongside existing partnerships with the United Kingdom and France.