- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukraine is preparing mass production of interceptor drones designed to destroy jet-powered drones.
- Zelenskyy said Ukraine has signed ten-year security agreements with three countries and is in talks with Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv is preparing to begin mass production of interceptor drones built to take down fast-moving aerial threats, including jet-powered drones, while also expanding long-term security partnerships in the Middle East.
Speaking about both the battlefield situation and Ukraine’s growing defense cooperation abroad, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian specialists have already helped several countries strengthen their air defense and electronic warfare capabilities. He described the results as “very positive” and said the work has drawn respect for Ukraine’s wartime expertise.
His remarks came as Ukrainian commanders continue to track Russia’s troop buildup in the east. Zelenskyy said Russian forces are still increasing their presence inside Ukraine despite losses that, in his words, roughly match the number of troops Moscow mobilizes each month.
“In a month, we eliminate the same number of occupiers as the Russians mobilize, yet the size of their military contingent on the territory of Ukraine continues to grow,” he said.
He said Kyiv believes Russia is reinforcing its forces by drawing from strategic reserves, a step he described as risky because it leaves other border areas less protected.
Zelenskyy added that he recently reviewed updated Russian military maps with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov. He said Russian forces are aiming to capture Druzhkivka, Kostiantynivka, and Pokrovsk by the end of April, but dismissed that timetable as unrealistic.
“It is impossible,” he said, adding that British intelligence shares Kyiv’s view that Russian troops do not currently have the capability to meet that deadline.
A large part of Zelenskyy’s comments focused on air defense, particularly Ukraine’s work in countering drones, an area where the country has gained hard-earned experience over more than two years of war.
He said Ukrainian military experts, including specialists in interceptor drones and electronic warfare, have been deployed to countries in the Middle East to help improve local air defense systems. He stressed that these were not training exercises, but operational support missions aimed at strengthening existing defenses.
In some cases, Ukrainian teams advised partner countries on how to improve radar coverage, interception tactics, and electronic warfare measures based on lessons learned from repeated Russian missile and drone attacks.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s specialists have also helped shoot down Iranian-made Shahed drones outside Ukraine.
“Did we destroy Iranian ‘shaheds?’ Yes, we did. Did we do it in just one country? No, in several,” he said.
He called that effort a success and said it showed that Ukraine’s combat experience can be applied beyond its own borders.
The most notable part of his statement was the disclosure that Ukraine has also successfully intercepted jet-powered drones, a more difficult target than slower one-way attack drones because of their speed and flight profile.
“We also shot down drones with jet engines. This is a very good signal, I think,” Zelenskyy said. “Now it is only a matter of time before we begin mass production of interceptors that will destroy drones with jet engines.”
These systems are built specifically to chase down and destroy hostile drones in flight. Unlike traditional air defense missiles, which can be costly to use against relatively cheap unmanned aircraft, interceptor drones offer a lower-cost option for protecting infrastructure and military positions from repeated attacks.
The shift toward mass production underscores how quickly drone warfare has changed air defense priorities, not only in Ukraine but across regions facing similar threats.
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine has signed ten-year agreements with three countries under which Ukrainian companies will work with local armed forces to protect specific sites.
He did not identify those countries, but said additional security talks are under way with Oman and that discussions are also continuing with Kuwait and Bahrain.
“My task is to negotiate volumes, services, and types of weaponry,” he said.
In return, Ukraine is receiving a range of support measures. Zelenskyy said some arrangements include interceptor systems that could help defend Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, while others involve financial compensation.
He also said some agreements include oil and diesel supplies for Ukraine, with crude oil in certain cases being shipped to refineries in Europe for processing before delivery.
The arrangement points to a broader model of wartime cooperation in which Ukraine is exchanging battlefield expertise and defense support for resources that strengthen its own resilience at home.
For Kyiv, that includes not only weapons and funding, but also fuel supplies that remain critical to keeping military and civilian infrastructure operating under continued Russian strikes.