ISTANBUL — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concern that a prolonged U.S.-Israeli war on Iran could further erode America’s support for Ukraine as Washington’s global priorities shift and Kyiv braces for reduced deliveries of critically needed Patriot air defense missiles.
Ukraine desperately needs more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to help it counter Russia’s daily barrages, Zelenskyy said, speaking to The Associated Press in an exclusive interview late Saturday in Istanbul.
Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago has killed thousands of civilians. It has also targeted Ukraine’s energy supply to disrupt industrial production of Ukraine’s newly developed drones and missiles, while also denying civilians heat and running water in winter.
“We have to recognize that we are not the priority for today,” Zelenskyy said. “That’s why I am afraid a long (Iran) war will give us less support.”
A loss of focus on Ukraine
The latest U.S.-brokered talks between envoys from Moscow and Kyiv ended in February with no sign of a breakthrough. Zelenskyy, who has accused Russia of “trying to drag out negotiations” while it presses on with its invasion, said Ukraine remains in contact with U.S. negotiators about a potential deal to end the war and has continued to press for stronger security guarantees.
PHOTOS: A long Mideast war could take away from support for Ukraine, Zelenskyy tells the AP
But, he said, even those discussions reflect a broader loss of focus from Ukraine.
His most immediate concern, Zelenskyy said, are the Patriots – essential for intercepting Russian ballistic missiles – as Ukraine still lacks an effective alternative.
These U.S. systems were never delivered in sufficient quantities to begin with, Zelenskyy said, and if the Iran war doesn’t end soon, “the package – which is not very big for us – I think will be smaller and smaller day by day.”
“That’s why, of course, we are afraid,” he said.
Interlinked wars
Zelenskyy had been counting on European partners to help make the Patriot purchases despite tight supply and limited U.S. production capacity.
But the Iran war, now in its sixth week, has sent shock waves through the global economy and pulled in much of the wider Middle East region, further straining these already limited resources, diverting stockpiles and leaving Ukrainian cities more exposed to ballistic strikes.
For Kyiv, a key objective is to weaken Moscow’s economy and make the war prohibitively costly. Surging oil prices driven by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz are undermining that strategy by boosting the Kremlin’s oil revenues and strengthening Moscow’s capacity to sustain its war effort.
In his interview with the AP, Zelenskyy said Russia draws economic benefits from the Mideast war, citing the limited easing of American sanctions on Russian oil.
“Russia gets additional money because of this, so yes, they have benefits,” he said.
Russian officials said Sunday a fire broke out at a major oil refinery in the Nizhny Novgorod region after a drone attack, while another drone damaged a pipeline at the Russian Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, home to a major oil export terminal. No casualties were reported.
Russia could reap a windfall from a surge in oil prices and the U.S. temporary waiver on Russian oil sanctions designed to ease supply shortages as the Iran war continues. Russia is one of the world’s main oil exporters, and Asian nations are increasingly competing for Russian crude oil as an energy crisis mounts.
In response, Ukraine has intensified its long-range drone attacks on Russian oil facilities, which have rattled Moscow.
A renewed diplomatic push
To keep Ukraine on the international agenda, Zelenskyy has offered to share Ukraine’s hard-earned battlefield expertise with the United States and allies to develop effective countermeasures against Iranian attacks.
Ukraine has met Russia’s evolving use of Iranian-made Shahed drones with growing sophistication, technological ingenuity and low cost.
Moscow significantly modified the original Shahed-136, rebranded as the Geran-2, enhancing its ability to evade air defenses and be mass produced. Ukraine responded with quick innovation of its own, including low-cost interceptor drones designed to track and destroy incoming drones.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to share with Gulf Arab countries targeted by Iran its experience and technology, including interceptor drones and sea drones, which Ukraine produces – more than are used up – with funding from Americans and its European partners.
In return, these countries could help Ukraine “with anti-ballistic missiles,” Zelenskyy said.
In late March, as the Iran war escalated, Zelenskyy visited Gulf Arab states to promote Ukraine’s singular experience in countering Iranian-made Shahed drones, leading to new defense cooperation agreements.
Zelenskyy has also positioned Ukraine as a potential partner in safeguarding global trade routes, offering assistance in reopening the Strait of Hormuz by sharing Ukraine’s experiences securing maritime corridors in the Black Sea.
Zelenskyy was in Istanbul for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a day after the Turkish leader spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy said they discussed peace talks and a possible meeting of leaders in Istanbul. He also said there could be new defense deals signed between the two countries soon.
Following the talks in Istanbul, Zelenskyy and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrived in Syria on an official visit Sunday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
Writing on X, Zelenskyy said he discussed the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and that there is “strong interest in exchanging military and security experience” between Ukraine and Syria.
Russia steps up its spring offensive
Each year as the weather improves, Russia moves its grinding war of attrition up a notch. However, it has been unable to capture Ukrainian cities and has made only incremental gains across rural areas. Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.
On the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line stretching across eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, short-handed Ukrainian defenders are getting ready for a new offensive by Russia’s larger army.
The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Russian troops have in recent days made simultaneous attempts to break through defense lines in several strategic areas.
One thing Zelenskyy says he has insisted on and will continue to do so – a territorial compromise and giving up land will not be on Ukraine’s agenda.
In Ukraine, meanwhile, drone attacks overnight into Sunday killed at least one person and seriously wounded another in the city of Nikopol, authorities said. Three people were wounded in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa in a separate drone attack.
