Zelenskyy made the diplomatic outreach as Ukraine’s leaders also faced continued drone attacks tied to the broader Russia-Ukraine war and to Russia’s reliance on drones. Speaking during a Saturday briefing and in posts on X after meetings in the Gulf, he described Ukraine’s goal as building long-term security ties grounded in battlefield experience and industrial cooperation, not simple arms sales.
In the UAE, Ukrainian and Emirati state media reported a meeting between Zelenskyy and Emirati leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan about regional security amid the war involving Iran. Later, Zelenskyy posted that he traveled on to Doha, where he met Qatari leaders including the ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine has already signed 10-year security agreements with Saudi Arabia and Qatar and expected to finalize a similar deal with the UAE. He also said Ukraine’s partnerships aimed at cooperation on joint defense industry projects, coproduction facilities and technological partnerships, describing the approach as an effort to create durable regional defense capacity.
Zelenskyy’s visits come as the war in the Middle East, which he tied to attacks launched by the United States and Israel on Iran on Feb. 28, has escalated across the region. He described the focus for Gulf partners as countering Iran’s drone strikes and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway he said affects the global oil market.
In addition to defense-sector cooperation, Zelenskyy said Ukraine has been helping five countries—UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan—counter Iranian drone strikes. He also said that, for Ukraine, the effort reflects a principle that “terror must not prevail anywhere in the world,” adding that “Protection must be sufficient everywhere.”
At a separate media briefing, Zelenskyy said Ukraine lacks high-end air-defense systems such as Patriot missiles but is using what he called an “integrated” defense model to counter Iranian-made Shahed drones. He said Tehran sent large numbers of the attack drones to Russia early in the war, and that Russia later modified the drones to improve effectiveness, began domestic production and launched them in waves at Ukrainian cities.
Zelenskyy also addressed U.S. concerns about shifting aid away from Ukraine. He told reporters his government has received “no signals” from the U.S. about potential diversions of weapons, including those funded by European partners, from Ukraine to the Middle East—comments he made after weeks of speculation that the Iran war could pull attention from Ukraine, deplete Western arsenals and prompt NATO allies to reduce support for Kyiv.
He further disputed recent remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who on Friday dismissed as “a lie” Zelenskyy’s claim that Washington wants Kyiv to hand over territory to Russia before security guarantees. Zelenskyy said his earlier statements, made in an interview with Reuters, reflected the “general direction” of talks, and he told reporters, “I have not lied to anyone,” adding that Rubio may have misconstrued his comments.
Amid the diplomatic outreach, Zelenskyy and Ukrainian authorities also reported drone attacks overnight in Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities said Russia launched more than 270 drones at Ukraine overnight, killing at least five people. They said two people were killed and at least 11 more were wounded in a nighttime Russian drone strike on Odesa, and that Zelenskyy said the “massive” strike involved more than 60 drones.
Ukrainian officials also said Russia’s overnight strikes killed two men and wounded two others in Kryvyi Rih, where a drone hit an industrial facility, and that one person was killed in the Poltava region when Russia struck industrial sites. They also said Ukraine’s drones hit a private house in Russia’s western Yaroslavl region, where Gov. Mikhail Evraev said a child died and the child’s parents were hospitalized with serious injuries after the attack.
In a statement, Russia’s Defense Ministry said 155 Ukrainian drones were shot down during the night over Russia and the annexed Crimean Peninsula.