Zelensky: The war in the Middle East has not yet affected arms supplies to Ukraine, but it is possible

There have been no signals from the US and Europe so far that the war in the Middle East could affect the PURL initiative to purchase American weapons for Ukraine, including the scarce PAC-3 missiles for Patriot.

Volodymyr Zelensky said this in a conversation with journalists.

The war in the Middle East and its impact on Ukraine

At the same time, according to him, a prolonged war may affect the number of air defenses for Ukraine.

He also noted that the trilateral meeting of Ukraine, Russia, and the United States is scheduled for March 5-6 in Abu Dhabi and has not yet been canceled due to the war in the Middle East.

It is not yet clear whether the meeting will take place in Abu Dhabi due to the fighting. Turkey and Switzerland are among the options for the meeting.

Zelensky added that so far none of the partners or countries in the Middle East have directly turned to Ukraine for help in shooting down Iranian drones. But Ukraine is ready to share its experience.

Other statements by Zelensky

The president also said that Ukraine is not talking to the Russian Federation about exchanging small territories on the border captured by the Russians for the large territory of the Donetsk region, which is now under Ukrainian control.

According to Zelensky, Russia is preparing a new wave of attacks, targeting infrastructure, logistics, and water supply.

The President said that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, in a conversation with Zelensky, agreed to meet in Ukraine.

"I didnʼt really understand the reaction later that we were ready to meet in another country. I think thatʼs wrong. Thereʼs an oil pipeline here, why would we go somewhere?" he commented.

Zelensky also reacted to the fact that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was unable to set a date for Ukraineʼs accession to the EU. He recalled that in a few days Ukraine will be technically ready to open all 6 clusters for EU accession negotiations.

"We are ready, but not all EU leaders. You know who is blocking," the president said.

War in the Middle East

On the morning of Saturday, February 28, the US and Israel began attacking Iran. The Israelis called the operation “Lion’s Roar”, the US called it “Epic Fury”. In the evening, it became known about the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He died in his residence during US and Israeli strikes on the morning of February 28.

Iran responded by attacking American bases in the Persian Gulf countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE. Iran also attacked Israel with ballistic missiles. Some Iranian drones and missiles targeted infrastructure and residential areas in Arab countries. For example, at the airports of Dubai and Abu Dhabi (UAE), one person was killed and 11 were injured due to Iranian attacks.

Israel also attacked the Lebanese pro-Iranian Hezbollah, which struck back.

An Iranian drone attacked the British air base in Akrotiri in Cyprus. The BBC writes that no one was injured, there is only minor damage. The day before, the British Defense Minister John Healy said that Iran had fired two missiles in the direction of Cyprus. Healy said that they were not aimed directly at British bases, but this shows how "indiscriminate" the Iranian response is.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement that the United States could use British bases in the region to strike Iranian missile depots and launchers. Britain will not attack Iran, but will intercept its air targets and will bring in experts from Ukraine and its own to help Gulf states shoot down Iranian drones.

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