Trading Anti-Drone Expertise for Survival While Cracking Russia’s Regional Influence - By Radha Stirling, Crisis Manager, Policy Advisor and CEO of Due Process International
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just wrapped up a surprise, high-speed diplomatic blitz across the Gulf. He visited Saudi Arabia on Thursday, the UAE on Friday, Qatar on Saturday, with talks extending into Jordan. In just a matter of days, Kyiv has inked multiple 10-year defence cooperation agreements focused on air defence, drone countermeasures, and joint technology projects. On the surface, it looks like classic shuttle diplomacy. But what is Zelensky really playing for, and what does this mean for Russia’s already strained relationships in the region?
The Goal: Combat-Proven Expertise for Hard Power in Return
Zelensky is not arriving empty handed. Ukraine has spent three years perfecting the art of intercepting and neutralising Iranian-designed Shahed drones and missiles, the very systems now raining down on Gulf targets in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes. Kyiv has already deployed more than 200 Ukrainian anti-drone specialists across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. In return, Zelensky is offering these battle-tested tactics, electronic warfare know-how, and even potential co-production facilities.
The payoff for Ukraine is crystal clear and ruthlessly pragmatic:
The payoff for Ukraine is clear and ruthlessly pragmatic. In exchange for sharing its battle-tested anti-drone expertise, Kyiv is seeking advanced air defence systems that the Gulf states possess in abundance but Ukraine desperately needs to counter Russian strikes. It is also pursuing long-term strategic partnerships that diversify its support base at a time when Western fatigue is growing, economic and reconstruction investment from some of the world’s richest sovereign wealth funds, and a stronger seat at the table in Gulf security discussions, including potential involvement in securing the Strait of Hormuz.
This is not abstract solidarity. It is a straight-up barter: you face Iranian drones, we know how to kill them better than anyone, now give us the missiles we need to survive Russia. Zelensky has framed it as a principled stand, claiming terror must not prevail anywhere, but the subtext is pure survival diplomacy in a multipolar world where traditional allies are distracted or divided.
The Russian Angle: A Direct Challenge to Moscow’s Gulf Foothold
Russia cannot be happy about this.
For years, Moscow has cultivated warm ties with Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Doha through OPEC+ oil coordination, arms sales, and a shared interest in keeping the West at arm’s length. The Gulf has often played both sides, quietly enabling Russian sanctions evasion while maintaining plausible neutrality on Ukraine. Zelensky’s tour directly undercuts that balancing act.
Even more pointedly, Zelensky used the trip to publicly accuse Russia of actively helping Iran. He revealed fresh intelligence showing Russian satellites photographing U.S. and allied bases across the region (Diego Garcia, Prince Sultan Air Base, Al Udeid in Qatar, Saudi oil fields, etc.) between 24–26 March, data allegedly passed to Tehran for strike planning. The message to Gulf leaders was unmistakable: “While you discuss easing sanctions on Moscow, Russia is helping your enemy map your critical infrastructure.”
This is not subtle. It forces Gulf capitals to choose: deeper security ties with a proven anti-drone partner (Ukraine) or continued indulgence of a Russia that is now demonstrably aligned with their current threat (Iran).
Even as these defence pacts were being finalised, the UAE simultaneously deepened its economic ties with Moscow. On March 27, just as Zelensky arrived in Abu Dhabi, Russia’s Rosatom and UAE-based DP World announced a new joint logistics venture in Russia. Under the deal, Rosatom will hold a 51 percent majority stake, incorporating FESCO shipping assets, while DP World takes 49 percent. The partnership aims to expand container flows and develop the Northern Sea Route as an alternative global trade corridor. This move underscores Abu Dhabi’s classic multi-alignment strategy: securing immediate tactical help from Ukraine against Iranian drones while continuing and even expanding profitable long-term business with Russia in logistics and infrastructure.
The Wider Geopolitical Ripple Effects
For Ukraine, the risks are real. Overplaying the Gulf card could irritate Washington if it looks like Kyiv is freelancing too aggressively. There is also the danger that Gulf states, ever pragmatic, will extract maximum concessions without delivering the kind of decisive support Ukraine ultimately needs.
But the upside is potentially transformative. Successful defence pacts could open the door to Gulf capital for Ukrainian reconstruction, joint defence-industry ventures, and a new non-Western diplomatic bloc that reduces Kyiv’s vulnerability to shifts in U.S. or European policy.
For Russia, this tour is a headache. It accelerates the erosion of Moscow’s influence in a region it has courted for decades. If the Gulf begins to view Ukraine as a useful security partner rather than a distant European problem, the Kremlin loses leverage in energy markets, sanctions diplomacy, and its broader anti-Western axis with Iran.
Zelenskyy’s Gulf tour reflects a broader shift in how Ukraine is approaching the war. Rather than relying solely on traditional Western partners, Kyiv is expanding its diplomatic reach into regions that have historically maintained closer ties with Russia or remained neutral. Whether these new defence deals will actually deliver the air defence systems Ukraine needs to turn the tide against Russia remains to be seen. But one thing is already clear. The comfortable old relationship between Russia and the Gulf states is starting to crack and Zelensky is the one holding the chisel.
Moscow may threaten to tilt even more openly toward Iran in the current conflict, or quietly slow-walk key energy and investment deals that the Gulf states value. Putin has already been calling Gulf leaders personally in recent weeks to position Russia as a potential mediator in the Iran crisis. He is now likely to intensify those calls in a direct effort to undermine Zelensky’s growing influence in the region.
The coming weeks will show whether these new 10-year deals are paper promises or genuine strategic realignments. For now, the message from Kyiv is loud and clear: in 2026, Ukraine is not just fighting for survival, it is building new alliances on the front lines of multiple conflicts.
