LONDON (AP) 鈥� Ukrainian President called Russia and Iran 鈥渂rothers in hatred鈥� on Tuesday as he sought support from U.K. Prime Minister at a time when the has robbed momentum from U.S.-brokered talks to end .
Zelenskyy urged Ukraine’s allies not to forget about his country, and suggested the U.S. and others should make use of Ukraine’s anti-drone technology during a Middle East war that has also revived Russia鈥檚 ailing economy through increased oil revenue and could soon limit Kyiv鈥檚 access to vital Western air defense systems, which are needed in the Middle East.
鈥淭he regimes in Russia and Iran are brothers in hatred and that is why they are brothers in weapons,” Zelenskyy told lawmakers in Britain’s Parliament. 鈥淎nd we want regimes built on hatred to never, never win in anything.”
Holding talks with Zelenskyy at 10 Downing Street, Starmer said 鈥�(Russian President Vladimir) Putin can鈥檛 be the one who benefits from the conflict in Iran, whether that鈥檚 oil prices or the dropping of sanctions.”
The meeting came days after the U.S. temporarily waived some Russian oil sanctions in a bid to ease pressure on global supplies triggered by the war in the Middle East, which was sparked by the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting Feb. 28.
Zelenskyy and some other European leaders criticized Washington鈥檚 move to ease sanctions, saying it would provide to keep up its attacks on Ukraine.
Zelenskyy also met with 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鈥檚 agile adoption of technology, including drones and AI, for defense.
鈥淭he fact we got through this winter, which Russia tried to make deadly for all our families, shows that our solutions work,鈥� Zelenskyy said.
European leaders underline risks of Iran war for Ukraine
Zelenskyy said the London talks, also attended by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. would assess energy security, after Russia over the winter, and the battlefield situation.
In Brussels, the European Union鈥檚 chief diplomat Kaja Kallas noted Tuesday that Russia stands to gain from higher energy prices and the rerouting of advanced Western air defense systems from Ukraine to the Middle East.
But, she said, Ukraine 鈥渞emains Europe鈥檚 top security priority and attention for Ukraine will not be allowed to fizzle out.鈥�
Finland鈥檚 President Alexander Stubb said the Iran war is bad for Ukraine, 鈥渕ainly because of the oil price which feeds the Russian war machinery. The Russian economy was actually doing extremely badly a couple of weeks back. Now it鈥檚 bouncing back.”
Ukraine losing out with Middle East conflict, analysts say
U.S. President Donald Trump says he wants to that ends Europe鈥檚 biggest conflict since World War II and has rattled the continent鈥檚 leaders, who reckon that Russia could pose to the European Union by the end of the decade.
But the U.S.-mediated talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv, which so far have yielded no significant progress on key issues, are on hold during the Middle East conflict.
Ukraine is the 鈥渦ltimate loser鈥� from the war with Iran, said Ed Arnold, Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London. He said the war is draining stocks of American air defense missiles that are crucial for Kyiv to shoot down Russian missiles and is diverting Washington鈥檚 attention from Russia-Ukraine negotiations.
Fran莽ois Heisbourg, special adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris, said it is important for Ukraine to secure deals with Gulf states for advanced air defense systems in exchange for Ukrainian anti-drone expertise and technology.
UK and Ukraine eye drone deal that Trump spurned
Ukraine has become one of the of high-tech, battle-tested drone interceptors.
Zelensky stressed that Ukraine鈥檚 experience 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 vast 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 Ukraine鈥檚 military.
Trump has spurned Zelenskyy鈥檚 offer of help for the United States and its Persian Gulf partners in fighting Iranian drones.
British officials say Russia and Iran are collaborating 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 U.K. and Ukraine signed a deal combining 鈥淯kraine鈥檚 expertise and the U.K.鈥檚 industrial base to manufacture and supply drones and innovative capabilities.鈥� Britain is also funding an 鈥淎I Center of Excellence鈥� in conjunction with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
Ukraine counterattacks on front line, Kremlin calls resistance 鈥榝utile鈥�
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 206 Ukrainian drones overnight over Russian regions, the annexed Crimean Peninsula and the Azov Sea. A total of 40 intercepted drones were flying toward Moscow, the ministry said.
Asked about an increase in Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow over the past few days, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that authorities in Kyiv were 鈥渃ontinuing absolutely futile resistance.”
Zelenskyy said late Monday that counterattacks by Ukrainian forces at eastern and southern points along the front line have wrecked Moscow’s plans for a March offensive.
His comments couldn’t be independently verified, but the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Monday that Ukrainian counterattacks 鈥渁re likely constraining鈥� some Russian offensive operations.
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Associated Press writers Illia Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine and Emma Burrows in London contributed to this report.
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