Zelenskyy announces readiness to exchange Ukrainian interceptor drones for Patriot missiles

Ukraine is ready to transfer its interceptor drones to its partners in the Middle East to combat Iranian Shahed strike drones in exchange for missiles for Patriot air defense systems.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this in an interview with Rai Italia.

The President noted that Ukraine has a shortage of interceptor missiles for Patriot systems, in particular PAC-2 and PAC-3, while some Middle Eastern countries have these munitions in service.

According to Zelenskyy, at the same time, partners need Ukrainian interceptor drones, which are used to counter Iranian Shahed drones.

The President said that the United States, European states and Middle Eastern countries have asked Ukraine to examine the strikes of these drones. Kyiv is ready to share its own experience in countering such attacks.

"As for weapons: we ourselves are at war. And I said absolutely frankly: we have a shortage of what they have. They have missiles for Patriots, but they will not shoot down hundreds or thousands of Shaheds, it is expensive. It is no harm for people, of course, but they simply do not have so many missiles. Therefore, they need interceptor drones, which we have. And we have a shortage of RAS-2, RAS-3 missiles. Therefore, if we talk about the exchange of technologies, the exchange of weapons, I think our country will be open to this," Zelenskyy stressed.

Recall that the United States and at least one Persian Gulf state are discussing the purchase of Ukrainian interceptor drones to counter Iranian Shahed drones.

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that he had instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, Minister of Defense, Military Command and Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council to prepare proposals for supporting states that seek assistance due to the threat of Iranian strike drones.

The Pentagon is discussing the rapid use of high-precision weapons during the US operation in Iran, which has raised questions about the volume of available stocks. First of all, we are talking about Patriot missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Iranian strike drones of the Shahed type pose a serious challenge to American air defense, which is not guaranteed to intercept all such targets.