As the Gulf Arab states look to Kiev for a solution to the problem of Iranian drones, it supplies it with valuable information on the battlefield. The involvement of the two belligerents of the great European conflict in the latest Middle East crisis confirms that the two most important military fronts in the world intertwine and define each other.
“We will help defend those who help us [σ.σ. την Ουκρανία] to put a just end to the war” said the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky (Wednesday, 04/03), referring to his country’s stance on the war launched by Israel and the US against it. He added that many of its countries that have been hit by drones of the Iranian armed forces in recent days (Oman, Jordan, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar) are interested in cooperation with Kiev in terms of providing expertise to intercept them.
This was followed by a post by Zelensky on social media, where, among other things, he stated that “Ukraine helps those partners who provide assistance to its security and the protection of its people.” Kiev’s motivation to get involved – even indirectly – in the war that is shaking the Middle East is that the start of hostilities caused the postponement of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, which were scheduled to last from March 5 to 9.
But at the same time, it gave the Ukrainian side the opportunity to use its valuable experience in the Russian “drone war” as a negotiating weapon. The reason lies in the comparative advantage offered by Ukrainian air defense in terms of cost. Kiev has based its defense against the Russians on low-cost and mass-produced drones (Sting, Merops, Magura, etc.), which cost a few thousand dollars each and can shoot down the corresponding Iranian Shahed drones, which the Russian military has used extensively on the front line of fire in Ukraine. It is therefore preferable for the Gulf petro-monarchies to use cheap Ukrainian drones to intercept Iranian ones rather than multi-million dollar missiles.
Ukrainian opportunity and Russian gifts
Ukraine is determined to bet on this incomparably beneficial option for the Gulf states, primarily securing diplomatic support and secondarily financial support. “The conflicts in Iran and Ukraine are connected, Iran supplies Russia with weapons and Russia helps Iran develop its defense,” noted the head of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Oleksandr Meretzko, while calling on the US to view the two conflicts as a single entity.
And it’s not just the Arab states that are interested, since Zelensky mentioned that there are strikes from the US as well, with US President Donald Trump commenting: “I’ll take any help from any country.” It is worth noting that American participation in the war costs Washington 891.4 million dollars per day according to the think tank CSIS.
It is certainly not only the Ukrainians who are indirectly involved in the war. The American newspaper Washington Post revealed that Russia has passed to Iran the locations of American warships, aircraft and radar systems. The extent of Russian intelligence support is not yet known, while estimates by analysts with deep knowledge of the Kremlin rule out further military involvement.
Even this kind of aid, however, is proving extremely useful to the Iranian regime. “There is a specificity and clarity to the Iranian strikes that we have never seen before,” Nicole Grajewski, a professor at the Center for International Relations at Sciences Po Paris, told the Washington Post.
