Zelensky claims that Ukrainian military shot down Iranian drones in the Middle East

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated this Friday that Ukrainian military and drone interception specialists have managed to shoot down Iranian drones after being deployed in several countries in the Persian Gulf during the offensive launched at the end of February by the United States and Israel against Iran.

“We sent our military experts to the Middle East, including specialists in drones and electronic warfare. We explained to some countries how to work with interception equipment. Did we destroy Iranian ‘Shahed’? Yes, we did. Did we do it in a single country? No, in several. And in my opinion, this is a success,” he stated in a message spread through social networks.

For Zelensky, “it was not a training mission or military maneuvers, but support activities to build a modern air defense system that really works.” “In those countries that opened the doors to their air defense systems for us, our experts were able to quickly advise on how to make those systems stronger and, in some cases, we directly shared our experience in real defense. In any case, all this has had a very positive result and generates respect for Ukraine,” he clarified.

“We also shoot down drones equipped with jet engines. I think this is a very good sign. We show that it works. Now it is only a matter of time before we begin mass production of interceptors that will destroy drones with jet engines,” he highlighted.

Zelensky has also announced that three other countries have requested help from Ukraine in the manufacture of drones. These countries, which “are interested”, are Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait, as he explained.

“We have ten-year agreements with three countries (Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates). Ukrainian companies will collaborate with the armed forces of these countries to protect specific facilities. My task is to agree on the volume, services and types of weapons,” he explained.

“Currently, security negotiations are taking place with Oman, and we are also in talks with Kuwait and Bahrain; this is an advantage for the countries with which we have already reached agreements,” he declared.

As for Oman, he clarified, “general agreements” are being negotiated, following the “same model of systematic work that currently exists with other countries, where there are groups of Ukrainian specialists currently working.”

ASSURES THAT THE DRUZHBA OIL PIPELINE WILL BE REPAIRED IN SPRING

Regarding the situation in Ukraine, Zelensky has announced that the repair of the controversial Druzbha oil pipeline, damaged following a Russian attack as part of the invasion of Ukraine, will be completed this spring, so that from then on it will be possible to resume supplies.

“The responsibility for the supply will fall on the Europeans. We will repair it, because that is the agreement. I told them that we will finish this spring. A lot of progress has already been made there,” Zelensky explained during a press conference in which he stated that it is “impossible to repair the tanks that are destroyed”, so “risks will have to be taken.”

In this sense, he regretted that Ukraine “does not know whether or not Russia will continue to attack” these areas after the January attacks against these facilities, located in Lviv, affected the service and paralyzed the supply through this pipeline – which links Russia with Eastern European countries -, which sparked strong criticism from Hungary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has publicly appealed to the Ukrainian president to speed up repair deadlines. In addition, Budapest has seized assets from the Ukrainian state bank Oschadbank worth tens of millions of euros, as well as nine kilos of gold, in the possession of seven of its workers when they crossed Hungarian territory.

Budapest acknowledged that it made its return conditional on the unblocking of the Druzhba, an issue that has also led Hungary to block new million-dollar aid packages destined for Ukraine and the adoption of a new package of sanctions against Russia.

On the other hand, Zelensky pointed out this Friday that some of Ukraine’s partners have asked kyiv to avoid attacking Russian refineries, especially while there is no definitive end to the war in the Middle East, which has caused a global energy crisis.

“I am not going to say who has asked for it, but it has been some partners. They have done it at different levels: military and political. During the Hormuz blockade, the partners have sent different signals to certain countries: some have been asked to increase production, others have been asked to increase transit, and we have been asked to reduce attacks,” he noted. “It is feared that all this will have an impact on energy prices,” he added.

TRANSFER OF RUSSIAN TROOPS

The Ukrainian president has taken the opportunity to warn that Russia is transferring part of its troops from its “strategic reserve” to front areas in Ukraine, which is why it is increasing its presence in the territory.

“This seems like an interesting situation to us: in one month we destroy the same number of troops that they mobilize, but at the same time, the deployment is increasing. We believe that they are promoting these increases by attracting military personnel from their strategic reserve,” he said.

Furthermore, he has indicated that he has already addressed the matter with the head of the Army: “we believe that this is something dangerous for Russia because with these actions they can weaken their borders and this would not be easy for them.” “Still, they are going for it,” he maintained, while weighing that for the Russian forces “the main objectives remain the same; to take Druzhkivka, Kostiantinivka and Pokrovsk before the end of April.”

“This is impossible, but this is not the first time they have set a deadline and now they have this,” he lamented, despite the fact that Ukrainian authorities estimate that Russia recorded almost 90,000 casualties among its ranks between January and March of this year.

Likewise, he highlighted that Ukraine’s unmanned aerial vehicles have become “more effective” thanks to the fact that “technology improves day by day.” “Sometimes we carry out operations in which we destroy several targets and sometimes we only focus on one. The Russians now have a lot of problems with some of these targets,” he stressed.

“If they want this to end, they must end their attacks, and then we will act in their image,” he said, while confirming that kyiv has recently received a new Patriot missile system. “We continue working with partners to guarantee our air defense,” he concluded.