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US, Mideast Seek Kyiv's Drone Expertise03/05 06:14
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- The United States and its allies in the Middle East
are seeking Ukraine's expertise in countering Iran's Shahed drones, 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 invaded
its neighbor just over four years ago, launching a swarm of more than 800
drones and decoys in its biggest nighttime barrage. 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's own defenses, and if it adds leverage to Kyiv's
diplomatic efforts to stop the Russian invasion, according to the Ukrainian
leader.
"We help to defend from war those who help us, Ukraine, bring a just end to
the war" with Russia, Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine has battle-tested drone defenses
Ukraine has pioneered the development of cut-price drone killers that cost
as little as $1,000, rewriting the air defense rule book and making other
countries take notice.
European countries got a wake-up call 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's 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's experience can help countries counter Iranian
drones.
Middle East war delays Russia-Ukraine talks
The Iran war, now in its sixth day, has drawn international attention away
from Europe's biggest conflict since World War II, and forced the postponement
of a new round of U.S-brokered talks 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 U.S.-led
peace efforts will stop the fighting any time soon.
"Right now, because of the situation around Iran, there are not yet the
necessary signals for a trilateral meeting," Zelenskyy said. "But as soon as
the security situation and the overall political context allow us to resume
that trilateral diplomatic work, it will be done."
Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs
committee, said Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to drag out the
negotiations so that he can press on with Russia's 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.
"In reality, Russia and Iran are close allies that act in concert -- Iran
supplies weapons and Russia helps Iran develop its defense industry. These are
interconnected conflicts," Merezhko told The Associated Press.
Ukraine's 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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