Ukraine, allies seek support against Russia as Iran war shifts focus – National
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia and Iran “brothers in hatred” on Tuesday as he sought UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s support as Iran’s military intervened in US-led talks to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy urged Ukraine’s allies not to forget about his country, and suggested that the US and others should use Ukraine’s anti-drone technology during the Middle East war that has revived Russia’s ailing economy with increased oil revenues and could quickly reduce Kyiv’s access to key Western air defense systems, which are needed in the Middle East.
“The regimes of Russia and Iran are brothers who hate each other and that is why they are brothers in arms,” Zelenskyy told lawmakers in the British Parliament. “And we want regimes built on hatred to never, never fall.”
Holding talks with Zelenskyy at 10 Downing Street, Starmer said “(Russian President Vladimir) Putin will not be the beneficiary of the Iran conflict, whether it’s oil prices or easing sanctions.”
The meeting came days after the US temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil in an effort to ease pressure on global supplies caused by the war in the Middle East, triggered by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran since Feb. 28.
Zelenskyy and other European leaders have criticized Washington’s move to ease sanctions, saying it will give Moscow the impetus to continue its offensive in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy also met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace before addressing a number of members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords in Parliament. He told them that other countries could learn from Ukraine’s adoption of technology, including drones and AI, for their own security.
“The reality we went through this winter, when Russia tried to kill all our families, shows that our solutions are working,” said Zelenskyy.
European leaders stress the dangers of Iran’s war on Ukraine
Zelenskyy said the talks in London, attended by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. will examine energy security, after Russia hit Ukraine’s power grid in the winter, and the state of the battlefield.
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In Brussels, the European Union ambassador Kaja Kallas noted on Tuesday that Russia will benefit from higher energy prices and the redeployment of Western air defense systems from Ukraine to the Middle East.
But, he said, Ukraine “is always at the forefront of security in Europe and the attention of Ukraine will not be allowed to appear.”
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said the Iran war is bad for Ukraine, “mainly because of the price of oil that feeds Russia’s war machine. In fact, the Russian economy has been doing very badly for the past few weeks. Now it is going backwards.”
Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty and the Ukrainian ambassador to Canada on Tuesday spoke at an event at Roschel’s Brampton, Ont., plant, which has produced hundreds of armored vehicles bought by Ottawa for the Ukrainian military.
Both officials stressed the importance of continuing to arm Ukraine. But in another sign of a shift in focus, almost all questions from reporters focused on Iran, not Ukraine or Russia.
Ukraine has lost the Middle East conflict, analysts say
US President Donald Trump says he wants to make a peace deal that ends Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II and has stirred the continent’s leaders, who think Russia could be a credible threat to the security of the European Union by the end of the decade.
But US mediation talks between envoys from Moscow and Kyiv, which have so far produced no significant progress on key issues, remain at a standstill in the Middle East conflict.
Ukraine is the “biggest loser” since the war with Iran, said Ed Arnold, Senior Researcher at the Royal United Services Institute in London. He said the war is depleting stocks of US anti-aircraft missiles vital to Kyiv’s ability to shoot down Russian missiles and diverting Washington’s attention from Russia-Ukraine talks.
François Heisbourg, a special adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, said that it is important for Ukraine to confirm deals with the Gulf states on advanced air defense systems in order to obtain Ukrainian anti-drone knowledge and technology.
UK drone deal with Ukraine Trump scrapped
Ukraine has become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of advanced, battle-tested drone communications equipment.
Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine’s experience could be useful in the war in the Middle East. He said that more than 200 Ukrainian military experts are in the region to share expertise in defeating Iran’s drones, which have been used in large numbers by Russia. Ukraine has developed cheap and effective ways to shoot them down, he said, showing the iPad-controlled defense system used by the Ukrainian military.
Trump rejected Zelenskyy’s request to help the United States and its Persian Gulf allies in the fight against Iranian drones.
British officials say Russia and Iran are collaborating on drone technology and tactics, and say Europe needs to raise its game when it comes to defense technology.
During Zelenskyy’s visit, the UK and Ukraine signed an agreement that includes “Ukrainian technology and UK bases for the production and supply of new drones and capabilities.” Britain is also funding an “AI Center of Excellence” in partnership with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
Ukraine attack ahead, Kremlin calls resistance ‘futile’
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 206 Ukrainian aircraft overnight in the Russian regions, the Crimean Peninsula and the Sea of Azov. There are 40 intercepted flights that were flying to Moscow, said the department.
Asked about the increase in attacks on Ukrainian planes in Moscow over the past few days, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the authorities in Kyiv “continue futile resistance.”
Zelenskyy said late Monday that Ukrainian military offensives in the east and south had disrupted Moscow’s plans for a March offensive.
His comments could not be independently verified, but the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, said on Monday that the attack on Ukraine was “likely to deter” further Russian offensive operations.
Associated Press writers Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine and Emma Burrows in London contributed to this report.
