KYIV: Nearly 20 countries are interested in drone deals with Ukraine and four agreements have already been signed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday (May 11).
Since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, Zelenskyy has managed to leverage Ukraine’s expertise in drone warfare into a series of successful diplomatic deals during visits to the Middle East and Europe.
“Nearly 20 countries are currently involved at various stages: 4 agreements have already been signed, and the first contracts under these agreements are now being prepared,” Zelenskyy said on X.
In April, Ukraine signed defence and drone deals in Germany, Norway and the Netherlands, following long-term security partnerships with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in late March.
Ukraine also signed agreements last month with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on defence and energy.
In his post, Zelenskyy also said Ukraine would launch security cooperation within the framework of drone deals with another part of the world, without specifying which.
Ukraine has already started to receive the necessary volume of fuel thanks to the agreements, Zelenskyy added, without elaborating.
Zelenskyy hopes his drone diplomacy can help secure energy-supply deals with Middle Eastern states as well as markets for Ukraine’s agricultural produce.
