Ukraine and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement on defense cooperation on March 27.
This was reported by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to him, the document lays the foundation for further contracts, technological cooperation, and investments and strengthens Ukraineʼs international role as a security donor.
"We are ready to share our expertise and system with Saudi Arabia and cooperate to strengthen the protection of lives," the president assured.
He added that Ukrainians have been fighting for five years against the same terrorist attacks with ballistic missiles and drones that the Iranian regime is currently carrying out across the Middle East and the Gulf region.
"And Saudi Arabia has something that Ukraine is interested in. This cooperation can be mutually beneficial," Zelensky emphasized.
Yesterday, the President of Ukraine arrived in Saudi Arabia on a visit, and today he met with Ukrainian military experts who have been working there for over a week. Against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and a number of other countries have turned to Ukraine for help in repelling Iranian "Shaheds" and missiles.
War in the Middle East
On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials. A new ayatollah was elected on March 8, Mojtaba Khamenei (the son of the deceased Ali Khamenei).
Iran responded by launching ballistic missile attacks on Israel and US bases in the Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. Some Iranian drones and missiles have targeted infrastructure and residential areas in Arab countries.
Amid the fighting in the Middle East, the United States asked Ukraine to help protect against Iranian "Shaheds”. At the same time, Zelensky said that Ukraine wanted to "quietly" trade with the countries of the region: receive missiles for Patriot in exchange for interceptor drones.
On March 10, it became known that Ukraine had sent three fully equipped counter-drone teams to the Middle East: to Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Ukraine also sent its drone experts to protect American bases in Jordan.
However, on March 21, the US President Donald Trump stated that Ukraine was allegedly not providing assistance to Washington in the war with Iran, and called Zelenskyʼs words about assistance a political and PR move.
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