The irony of the Shahed

Zelensky confirmed that Ukrainian military teams are already operating in Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Experts in security, engineers and military personnel, deployed to help these countries shoot down the same Shahed drones that Iran designed and Russia mass-produces to bomb Ukraine every night for the past four years. A fourth team is working in Jordan, protecting US bases. Eleven countries have requested Ukrainian assistance so far.

Kyiv's offer is elegant in its logic. Gulf countries are spending $4 million Patriot interceptors to shoot down drones that cost $30,000. Ukraine offers $5,000 interceptor drones, electronic warfare systems, acoustic detectors, and the operational experience of four years of continuous bombardment. In return, it wants PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles for its own Patriot systems, which it critically lacks. It is, in essence, a trade: cheap expertise for expensive munitions.

According to the IISS, Gulf states have intercepted over 2,150 Iranian projectiles since the war began, including drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. But Iran only needs a few hits for its asymmetric strategy to work: one drone killed six US soldiers in Kuwait, another struck the embassy in Riyadh, another damaged a hotel on Palm Jumeirah. Zelensky put it plainly: "When it comes to shooting down massive Shahed attacks, only Ukrainian experience can really help with this today". It is one of those claims that has the advantage of being true. Nobody else in the world has faced what Ukraine faces every night. And Zelensky knows it: he said he now has cards, and that everyone understands it.