- March 29, 2026
- 7:51 pm
- Middle East
On March 29, 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Jordan, continuing his trip to the Middle East, which in recent days has already taken him to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. In his post on X, he outlined the theme of the visit very directly: security remains the main priority, and important meetings lie ahead. For a region where the Iranian threat has long ceased to be theoretical, this is no longer just a diplomatic gesture, but a discussion about practical military cooperation.
For the Israeli audience, the geography of the trip is important, but so is its meaning. Ukraine, which has been living under massive drone and missile attacks for three years, is trying to turn its combat experience into a long-term strategic resource. And while Kyiv previously asked partners mainly for weapons and financial assistance, it is now increasingly selling expertise: knowledge, technologies, organizational models, and personnel who have already experienced real war with Iranian-Russian drone terror.
Jordan was not a random stop
This is not about protocol, but about a security system
The visit to Amman appears to be a logical continuation of the line Zelensky has built in the Gulf countries. Reuters writes that the goal of the current stage of the trip is to strengthen defense ties amid rising tensions in the region. In this construct, Jordan is important not as a formal platform for negotiations, but as a state for which issues of air defense, drone interception, and regional resilience have long had a practical, not abstract, character.
Against this backdrop, the Ukrainian position seems especially understandable. Kyiv is showing its Arab partners not theory or a presentation with beautiful diagrams, but experience paid for at a very high price. Ukraine has been living for several years in a mode where drones have become an everyday tool of war, and fighting them is a separate industry. Therefore, Zelensky’s negotiations in the region are not just about exchanging pleasantries, but also about a specific question: how to integrate Ukrainian expertise into the new security architecture of the Middle East.
What Kyiv has already signed with the Gulf countries
Decade-long agreements are a bet not on a gesture, but on a cycle
Before visiting Jordan, Zelensky visited Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. According to Reuters and AP, long-term defense agreements lasting ten years were signed or agreed upon with these countries. Their core is cooperation in countering missile threats and unmanned systems, technology exchange, joint work on security, and broader cooperation in the defense industry.
Zelensky specifically emphasized that this is not just about supplies or short-term consultations. According to him, this should be followed by joint production facilities — both in Ukraine and in partner countries. This is a different scale. Not one-time assistance, not a single contract, but an attempt to embed Ukrainian military expertise into the economy and industry of the Middle East for years to come.
An important detail concerns personnel. Here, public data shows differences in dates and wording. In mid-March, Al-Monitor, citing Zelensky’s statements, wrote about 201 Ukrainian military specialists in the region and another 34 ready for deployment. Later, Reuters reported about 228 specialists sent to help counter drones. This is not necessarily a contradiction: rather, an indication that the mission expanded as negotiations and new agreements progressed.
It is here that a broader framework becomes appropriate. НАновости https://nikk.agency/ — Israel News | Nikk.Agency has repeatedly written that the war against drones has long gone beyond the Ukrainian front and has become a common theme for countries facing Iran and its technological exports. Now this is visible at the level of official diplomacy: Kyiv enters the region not as an external observer, but as a player with a sought-after product — real combat experience in repelling massive air attacks.
Why Israel should pay close attention to this route
Ukraine is establishing itself where it was almost absent before
For Israel, this whole story is important for several reasons. Firstly, Ukraine is effectively offering Middle Eastern countries what is especially valued in the region today: inexpensive and quickly adaptable solutions against Iranian drones. Secondly, Kyiv is turning its war with Russia into a language that is increasingly understood in Arab capitals because the threat from Tehran has become immediate for many of them.
Secondly, this changes the very image of Ukraine in the region. It no longer appears only as a country asking for weapons from the West. Now Ukraine is trying to become a partner in security, production, and technology. And such relationships, especially if they are formalized for ten years, are much more stable than ordinary political sympathy.
And finally, there is a purely Israeli perspective. Israel has long lived in a reality where Iranian proxies, Iranian missiles, and Iranian drones are not an analytical category, but a matter of daily defense. When Ukraine offers its anti-drone developments to Middle Eastern countries, it does not look exotic. It looks like the beginning of a new regional mathematics, in which the experience of war in Eastern Europe is directly converted into security in the Middle East. The Jordanian stage of Zelensky’s tour only emphasizes: Kyiv wants to be part of this mathematics seriously and for a long time.
From a political point of view, this is also a signal to Moscow and Tehran. Ukraine is not just defending itself at home, but is taking its expertise outside, where Iran has tried and is trying to expand its influence through drones, missiles, and a network of allies. In this sense, Zelensky’s current tour is not a backdrop or diplomatic tourism. It is an attempt to integrate Ukraine into a new regional security system, which also has quite direct significance for Israel.