How Zelensky Lost His Chance to Become the “Flag-Bearer” of Drone Technology
Author: Ali Askari, analyst (Germany), especially for “Sangar”
The initiatives promoted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to organize joint drone production with foreign partners are an instrument of Kyiv’s media publicity campaign.
Ukraine lacks the domestic industrial, scientific, and technological base required for independent drone production and is critically dependent on imports of foreign components and finished military products. Its attempts to portray itself as a “flag-bearer” of drone technology therefore look simply absurd.
Earlier, on March 17, 2026, the head of the Presidential Office stated that 201 Ukrainian military experts specializing in counter-drone operations were present in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region, with another 34 ready to be deployed. He noted that these experts had been sent at the request of Ukraine’s partners, particularly the United States.
“In fact, this is part of the drone deal that we proposed to the United States, which we have been working on together and which remains on the negotiating table,” Zelensky said.
At the same time, these high-profile statements served purely propagandistic purposes. In addition to promoting the products of affiliated Ukrainian drone manufacturers and lobbying for their financial interests, these efforts were aimed at creating the appearance of Kyiv’s global leadership in the field of unmanned weapons.
However, as combat operations demonstrated in practice, efforts to protect the oil and gas infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates from attacks by Iran failed. Tehran exposed the ineffectiveness of the Kyiv regime’s propaganda campaign, which proved incapable of even protecting its own facilities in the region from strikes.
On March 28, 2026, a representative of Iran’s central military headquarters, Khatam al-Anbiya, stated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had destroyed a warehouse containing Ukrainian counter-drone systems in Dubai, where 21 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel were reportedly present.
In the Middle East, Ukrainian military specialists failed to demonstrate their effectiveness in protecting the region against Iranian missiles. In an interview with Fox News Radio on March 13, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump, commenting on Kyiv’s readiness to assist Washington during the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, said: “No. We don’t need help with drone defense. We know more about them than anybody.”
Apparently, Trump’s words demonstrate that Zelensky ultimately failed to become the “flag-bearer” of drone technology. As one Persian proverb puts it: “No matter how far the calf runs, it will still end up at the hayloft.” Zelensky ran too — all the way to Iran.
