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.