KYIV, March 8 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten discussed joint arms production during his visit to Kyiv on Sunday, and he stressed Ukraine’s unique experience in defending against Iranian-made drones used by Russia.
“It is important that we are producing weapons together with the Netherlands – and we will certainly continue and expand this joint work,” Zelenskiy said on X, adding they had discussed investments and possible production volumes in detail.
In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up efforts to establish joint arms production with European countries, opening several factories to manufacture drones.
As Iran launches drones at U.S. allies across the Gulf and beyond in response to intense U.S. and Israeli strikes, Ukraine is hoping the Middle East crisis will increase its leverage with allies by showing them that the expertise it has built during four years of Russia’s full-scale invasion could be invaluable to partners’ own long-term security.
Zelenskiy said that Kyiv has unique experience in combating drones, which Iran actively uses in its attacks on Middle Eastern countries.
He said that Ukraine is ready to sell the interceptor drones that are not used by the Ukrainian military, and the first group of Ukrainian military instructors will head to the Middle East on Monday.
“They are coming with the means to help,” Zelenskiy noted, adding that Ukraine would provide the expertise and experience in defending against “Shahed” model drones and cruise missiles.
Ukrainian manufacturers of cheap interceptor drones designed to knock out enemy unmanned aerial vehicles have said they have the capacity to export in large volumes.
(Reporting by Pavel PolityukEditing by Bernadette Baum, Alexandra Hudson)
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