Zelenskyy: 6 countries request Ukrainian experts in Middle East, incl Jordan

As of Friday, March 13, six countries have requested assistance from Ukrainian experts in Middle Eastern countries, with a separate request concerning Jordan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"At the end of the week, the military and the national security secretary (Rustem Umerov) will return and there will be a full report. Today we have requests from six countries for assistance. We have sent expertise to three countries and there is a separate request regarding Jordan," Zelenskyy said at a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.

Zelenskyy said that after Ukrainian military personnel return to Ukraine, the scope "of the assistance our partners expect from us" will be clear.

The president added that both Middle Eastern countries and the U.S. have interceptor drones, but "all of this doesn’t work" without Ukrainian pilots, military personnel and specialized software.

"This system exists only with us, it is official — it exists in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and therefore everyone understands that even having dozens and hundreds of interceptors, they, frankly speaking, do not stabilize the situation. This is systemic defense. It is precisely the experts who are specialists in systemic air defense, the use of short-range air defense — they are the ones who flew to these Middle Eastern countries," the head of state said.

On March 10, Zelenskyy said Umerov was traveling to Middle Eastern countries for talks on protecting regional countries from Iranian air threats. On March 11, Zelenskyy said Umerov was visiting the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday and also planned to visit several Middle Eastern countries.