Zelensky met with Zeev Elkin: Iran, Shahed, and common threats to Ukraine and Israel

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with Israeli Minister Zeev Elkin in Kyiv on October 6, 2026. The conversation, which began with memories of Babyn Yar, quickly shifted to today’s war: Russian attacks, Iranian Shahed technologies, and threats that now directly link Ukrainian and Israeli security systems.

Author: Elena Gunko

Elkin arrived in Ukraine with an Israeli delegation during events marking the 85th anniversary of the mass shootings at Babyn Yar. According to the Office of the President of Ukraine, Zelensky thanked him for his visit and emphasized that the memory of Babyn Yar is a shared part of the history of Ukraine and the Jewish people.

Almost immediately, the historical theme merged with the current war. Zelensky stated that Russia is trying to make even commemorative days as difficult as possible for Ukrainians with constant air attacks and the use of strike drones.

Iran was at the center of the conversation

The President of Ukraine paid special attention to the new reactive versions of Shahed.

According to Zelensky, the technologies for producing such devices were obtained by Russia from Iran. He specifically emphasized that Tehran used the same type of weapon against Israel.

For the Israeli reader, the brand of the drone is not as important as the connection between the two wars. Shahed is a family of Iranian-designed strike UAVs. Russia initially received such devices from Iran and then launched its own production of machines based on this technology, starting to use them massively against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

For Israel, the Iranian drone and missile program has long been one of the key threats to national security. That is why the conversation between Kyiv and Jerusalem about Shahed has long gone beyond the exchange of experience. Earlier, NANews detailed how Iranian technologies linked the Russian war against Ukraine and Israel’s security.

NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency has already written about how Ukraine and Israel are gradually forming a separate agenda around Iran. In 2025, during the visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to Kyiv, the parties officially agreed to start a strategic dialogue on the Iranian threat. The Israeli Foreign Ministry notes this agreement in the official chronicle of bilateral relations.

Now this topic was already voiced at the meeting between Zelensky and Elkin.

Why Elkin

Here, another Israeli detail is needed.

Zeev Elkin is not the Minister of Finance of Israel, but a minister in the Ministry of Finance. This is how his position is designated by the Office of the President of Ukraine. He has long been involved in Ukrainian-Israeli contacts and has repeatedly visited Ukraine on official visits.

Before the meeting with Zelensky, Elkin had already held a separate meeting in Kyiv with representatives of Jewish communities in Ukraine, where he spoke about how Israel changed after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. NANews reported on this meeting separately.

It turns out that his current visit was literally between two historical dates: the 85th anniversary of Babyn Yar and the third anniversary of October 7.

On the way to Kyiv, the war came very close

There is another detail about this trip.

On October 5, when Elkin was heading to Ukraine through the Palanca — Mayaki — Udobne border crossing area on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border, a Russian strike occurred nearby. The Moldovan Border Police officially reported that around 09:38, a munition fell near the crossing, damaging a bus and a control cabin. One border service employee received a minor injury, and the checkpoint’s operation was temporarily halted.

Ukrainian and Israeli media reported that Elkin’s car was supposed to pass through this area a few minutes after the incident. The minister himself was unharmed and continued his trip.

Thus, the conversation about ‘Russian and Iranian Shahed’ ceased to be an abstract diplomatic formula for the Israeli delegation even before the meeting with Zelensky.

“Strong relations could add to overall security”

Following the meeting, the parties discussed not only drones but also other threats, as well as the overall situation in the Middle East.

Zelensky articulated the political meaning of the conversation quite directly: stronger relations between Ukraine and Israel could enhance the security of both countries.

This does not yet mean the creation of any new military alliance or joint defense system. But the direction is becoming more noticeable: Israel and Ukraine have different wars, different armies, and different political circumstances, but part of the technologies, manufacturers, and states behind the threats overlap.

In this construct, Iran has long ceased to be just a Middle Eastern topic. Through Shahed, it has become part of the daily war against Ukraine — and simultaneously one of the main elements of the threat to Israel.