Zelensky says Russia-Ukraine talks on ice as Gulf states seek Kyiv drone advice

A new round of US-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine planned for this week has been postponed because of war in the Middle East, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Meanwhile, the United States and its allies in the Middle East are seeking Kyiv’s expertise in countering Iran’s Shahed drones.

Russia has fired tens of thousands of Shaheds at Ukraine since it invaded its neighbour just over four years ago, Mr Zelensky said.

Iran has responded with the same type of drones to joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets.

Ukraine has pioneered the development of cut-price drone killers that cost as little as 1,000 dollars (£748), rewriting the air defence rule book and making other countries take notice.

The Iran war, now in its sixth day, has drawn international attention away from Europe’s biggest conflict since the Second World War.

Western governments and analysts say the Russia-Ukraine war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, while there is no sign that year-long US-led peace efforts will stop the fighting any time soon.

“Right now, because of the situation around Iran, there are not yet the necessary signals for a trilateral meeting,” Mr Zelensky said late on Wednesday.

“But as soon as the security situation and the overall political context allow us to resume that trilateral diplomatic work, it will be done.”

Various countries, including the United States, had approached Ukraine for help in defending against Iranian drones, Mr Zelensky said.

He said he had spoken in recent days with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait about possible co-operation.

Ukrainian assistance, he said, would be provided only if it did not weaken Ukraine’s own defences and if it added leverage to Kyiv’s diplomatic efforts to stop the Russian invasion.

“We help to defend from war those who help us, Ukraine, bring a just end to the war” with Russia, Mr Zelensky said.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said before chairing a meeting of EU and Gulf foreign ministers via videolink on Thursday that the talks would look at how Ukraine’s experience can help countries counter Iranian drones.

Ukraine’s army has recently pushed back Russian forces at some points along the roughly 750-mile (1,250km) front line, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Localised Ukrainian counterattacks liberated more territory than Ukrainian forces lost in the last two weeks of February, the Washington-based think tank said this week, estimating the recovered land at about 100 square miles (257 square kilometres) since January 1.