KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� The United States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Ukraine鈥檚 expertise in according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Various countries, including the United States, have approached Ukraine for help in defending against the Iranian drones, Zelenskyy said late Wednesday. He said he has spoken in recent days with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait about possible cooperation.
Russia has fired tens of thousands of Shaheds at Ukraine since it just over four years ago, launching a swarm of more than 800 drones and decoys in its . Iran has responded to joint U.S.-Israeli strikes by launching the same type of drones at countries in the Middle East.
Ukrainian assistance in countering Iranian drones will be provided only if it does not weaken Ukraine鈥檚 own defenses, and if it adds leverage to Kyiv鈥檚 diplomatic efforts to stop the Russian invasion, according to the Ukrainian leader.
鈥淲e help to defend from war those who help us, Ukraine, bring a just end to the war鈥� with Russia, Zelenskyy said. Later Thursday, Zelenskyy said he had received a U.S. request for support to defend against the drones in the Middle East and had given the order for equipment to be provided along with Ukrainian experts without providing further details.
鈥淯kraine helps partners who help our security and the protection of our people鈥檚 lives,鈥� he added in a social media post.
Trump, in an interview Thursday with Reuters, said, 鈥淐ertainly I鈥檒l take, you know, any assistance from any country.鈥�
Ukraine has battle-tested drone defenses
Ukraine has pioneered the development of that cost as little as $1,000, rewriting the air defense rule book and making other countries take notice.
European countries got last September on the changed nature of air defense when Poland scrambled multimillion-dollar military assets, including F-35 and F-16 fighter jets and Black Hawk helicopters, in response to airspace violations by cheap drones.
Ukrainian manufacturers have developed low-cost interceptor drones specifically designed to hunt and destroy Shaheds, and its rapidly expanding drone industry is producing excess capacity.
Zelenskyy announced earlier this year that Ukraine would begin exporting the battle-tested systems.
The European Union鈥檚 top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said before chairing a meeting of EU and Gulf foreign ministers via video link Thursday that the talks would look at how Ukraine鈥檚 experience can help countries counter Iranian drones.
Middle East war delays Russia-Ukraine talks
now in its sixth day, has drawn international attention away from Europe鈥檚 biggest conflict since World War II, and forced the postponement of a new round of between Russia and Ukraine planned for this week, Zelenskyy said.
Western governments and analysts say the Russia-Ukraine war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, while there is no sign that yearlong will stop the fighting any time soon.
鈥淩ight now, because of the situation around Iran, there are not yet the necessary signals for a trilateral meeting,鈥� Zelenskyy said. 鈥淏ut as soon as the security situation and the overall political context allow us to resume that trilateral diplomatic work, it will be done.鈥�
Zelenskyy thanked the United States for the return from Russia on Thursday of 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russia’s Defense Ministry also said it received the same number of prisoners from Ukraine and thanked the U.S. and United Arab Emirates for mediating.
Prisoner swaps have been one of the few tangible results of the talks. Vladimir Medinsky, a Russian negotiator, said on social media that a total of 500 prisoners from each side would be exchanged between Thursday and Friday.
Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine鈥檚 parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to drag out the negotiations so that he can press on with Russia鈥檚 invasion while escaping further U.S. sanctions.
He urged the U.S. administration to look at the Russia-Ukraine war and the war in the Middle East as linked.
鈥淚n reality, Russia and Iran are close allies that act in concert 鈥� Iran supplies weapons and Russia helps Iran develop its defense industry. These are interconnected conflicts,鈥� Merezhko told The Associated Press.
Ukraine鈥檚 army has recently pushed back Russian forces at some points along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Localized Ukrainian counterattacks liberated more territory than Ukrainian forces lost in the last two weeks of February, the Washington-based think tank said this week, estimating the recovered land at about 257 square kilometers (100 square miles) since Jan. 1.
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Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
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