How Ukraine Benefited from Trump’s Iran War |
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Russia’s War in Ukraine
Understanding the conflict four years on.
On March 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a speech to the British Parliament. “The regimes in Russia and Iran are brothers in hatred—and that is why they are brothers in weapons,” Zelensky told lawmakers. “And we want regimes built on hatred to never, never win—in anything.”
As Zelensky went on to explain, Ukraine’s contempt for the Iranian regime was not just moral and political. For the past three years, he noted, Ukraine has been fighting off swarms of cheap but effective Iranian-designed drones launched at its cities by the Russians, giving it far more experience countering them than any other country in the world.
On March 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a speech to the British Parliament. “The regimes in Russia and Iran are brothers in hatred—and that is why they are brothers in weapons,” Zelensky told lawmakers. “And we want regimes built on hatred to never, never win—in anything.”
As Zelensky went on to explain, Ukraine’s contempt for the Iranian regime was not just moral and political. For the past three years, he noted, Ukraine has been fighting off swarms of cheap but effective Iranian-designed drones launched at its cities by the Russians, giving it far more experience countering them than any other country in the world.
By the end of his remarks, the Ukrainian president had presented a stirring statement of principles—and an advertisement for his country as a 21st century arsenal of democracy. It was a moment that illustrates, perhaps better than any other, how Kyiv has managed to turn U.S. President Donald Trump’s chaotic war against Iran to its own benefit.
Buyers were quick to line up. Within days, Zelensky was in the Middle East, where he quickly signed long-term agreements on military cooperation with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar as well as launching trade talks with four other countries. His experts offered these new partners the possibility of battle-tested and cost-efficient drone defenses at the same moment when the Persian Gulf........