Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has not received a direct request after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly announced the deployment of Ukrainian drone-defense specialists as part of a plan to help Gulf partners counter Iranian attacks.
Speaking to journalists on March 2, 2026, Zelenskyy said there had been no direct approach from the UK, other partners, or Middle Eastern representatives about sending Ukrainian “experts” abroad.
Zelenskyy emphasized Ukraine’s experience and suggested partners could come to Ukraine to learn from its air defense and counter-drone operators, but added that absent a direct request, there was “nothing further to talk about.”
Starmer cites Ukraine expertise for Gulf drone defense
The comments were a direct response to a speech made by Starmer on March 1, 2026, in which the UK prime minister said Britain would “bring experts from Ukraine together with our own experts” to help Gulf partners “shoot down Iranian drones.”
He framed the situation as an urgent protection issue for civilians, citing attacks on “airports and hotels” and the presence of large numbers of British citizens in the region.
How Western militaries are already drawing on Ukraine’s know-how
Western governments have increasingly sought to tap Ukraine’s drone and counter-drone experience in more structured ways.
In Estonia’s Hedgehog 2025 exercise, Ukrainian drone operators took part in the drills alongside NATO forces, an episode that was later cited in Western reporting as a wake-up call about how quickly frontline drone tactics can overwhelm conventional units.
In July 2025, France’s DGA tested a glide-bomb defense demonstrator at Biscarrosse in collaboration with the Ukrainian military and NATO, aimed at detecting, tracking, and intercepting the threat. On February 9, 2026, France signed a letter of intent with Ukraine for the joint development of “innovative” electronic warfare (EW) systems.