Ukraine, allies seek support against Russia as Iran war shifts focus – National

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia and Iran “brothers in hate” on Tuesday as he sought support from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a time when the Iran war has robbed momentum from US-led talks to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy insisted of Ukraine allies not to mention his country, suggesting the US and others are using Ukraine’s anti-drone technology during a Middle East war that has also boosted Russia’s ailing economy from increased oil revenues and could soon limit Kyiv’s access to vital Western air defense systems needed in the Middle East.

“The regimes in Russia and Iran are brothers in hatred and therefore they are brothers in arms,” ​​Zelenskyy told lawmakers in the British parliament. “And we want regimes built on hate to never, ever win in anything.”

Holding talks with Zelenskyy at 10 Downing Street, Starmer said “(Russian President Vladimir) Putin cannot be the one who benefits from the conflict in Iran, whether it is oil prices or the dropping of sanctions.”

The meeting came days after the US temporarily waived some Russian oil sanctions in an attempt to ease pressure on global supplies caused by the war in the Middle East, which was sparked by the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.

Zelenskyy and some other European leaders criticized Washington’s move to ease sanctions, saying it would give Moscow a windfall to stop its attacks on Ukraine.

Zelenskyy also met with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace before addressing dozens of members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords in parliament. He told them that other countries could learn from Ukraine’s agile adoption of technology, including drones and AI, for defense.

“The fact that we got through this winter, which Russia tried to make deadly for all our families, shows that our solutions are working,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy said the London talks, also attended by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. would assess energy security, after Russia hammered Ukraine’s power grid over the winter, and the battlefield situation.

In Brussels, the European Union’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, noted on Tuesday that Russia is benefiting from higher energy prices and the diversion of advanced Western air defense systems from Ukraine to the Middle East.

But, she said, Ukraine “remains Europe’s top security priority and attention to Ukraine will not be allowed to fade.”

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said the war in Iran is bad for Ukraine, “mainly because of the oil price that feeds the Russian war machines. The Russian economy was actually doing extremely bad a few weeks ago. Now it’s back.”

Canadian Defense Minister David McGuinty and Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada headlined an event Tuesday at Roschel’s Brampton, Ont., plant, which has produced hundreds of armored vehicles bought by Ottawa for Ukraine’s armed forces.

Both officials underlined the importance of continuing to arm Ukraine. In yet another sign of shifting focus, almost every question from reporters was directed at Iran, with none at Ukraine or Russia.

US President Donald Trump says he wants to confirm a peace deal that ends Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II and has rattled the continent’s leaders, who reckon Russia could pose a credible security threat to the European Union by the end of the decade.

But US-brokered talks between delegations from Moscow and Kiev, which have so far produced no significant progress on key issues, have stalled during the Middle East conflict.

Ukraine is the “ultimate loser” of the war with Iran, said Ed Arnold, Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London. He said the war is draining supplies of US air defense missiles crucial for Kiev to shoot down Russian missiles and diverting Washington’s attention from negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

François Heisbourg, special adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, said it is important for Ukraine to confirm deals with Gulf states for advanced air defense systems in exchange for Ukrainian anti-drone expertise and technology.

Ukraine has become one of the world’s leading producers of high-tech, battle-tested drone interceptors.

Zelensky stressed that the experience of Ukraine can be an asset in the Middle East war. He said more than 200 Ukrainian military experts are in the region to share expertise in defeating Iranian drones, which have been used in large numbers by Russia. Ukraine has developed cheap and effective ways to shoot them down, he said, showing off an iPad-controlled defense system used by the Ukrainian military.

Trump rejected Zelenskyy’s offer of help for the United States and its Persian Gulf partners in combating Iranian drones.

British officials say Russia and Iran are cooperating on drone technology and tactics, and argued that Europe must also raise its game when it comes to defense technology.

During Zelenskyy’s visit, the UK and Ukraine signed an agreement that would “combine Ukraine’s expertise and the UK’s industrial base to produce and supply drones and innovative capabilities.” Britain is also funding an “AI Center of Excellence” in conjunction with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that its air defense intercepted and destroyed 206 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian regions, the annexed Crimean peninsula and the Sea of ​​Azov. A total of 40 intercepted drones flew to Moscow, the ministry said.

Asked about an increase in Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow in recent days, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that authorities in Kiev “continue absolutely useless resistance.”

Zelenskyy said late Monday that counterattacks by Ukrainian forces at eastern and southern points along the front line had scuppered Moscow’s plans for a March offensive.

His comments could not be independently verified, but the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Monday that Ukrainian counterattacks “likely limited” some Russian offensive operations.

Associated Press writers Illia Novikov in Kiev, Ukraine and Emma Burrows in London contributed to this report.