Ukraine's international role has undergone a fundamental transformation after providing assistance to Middle Eastern and Gulf countries in countering Iranian drone attacks, said military expert and former officer of the Security Service of Ukraine, Oleh Starikov.

"Today we are witnessing a fundamental transformation of Ukraine's role on the international stage: we have moved from the status of a state that only needs assistance to that of a strategic security partner. Ukraine possesses unique, combat-proven experience in countering Russian and Iranian drones as well as massive combined aerial threats. This experience is now critically much-in-demand in the Gulf region… We are not just sharing knowledge and experience. We are helping to build resilient defense systems that are already delivering tangible results," Starikov said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

He said that Ukraine's cooperation with Gulf countries is based on the principle of full-cycle technological partnership, as Ukraine offers comprehensive engineering and manufacturing expertise.

"All this expertise represents an active projection of Ukrainian military capability in the Gulf region, fundamentally changing how we are perceived globally as a reliable partner. Interest from partners in our defense solutions is the foundation for broad economic cooperation. Converting our added value in the defense sector into initiative-driven projects will make it possible not only to rebuild infrastructure, but also to create a powerful defense-industrial hub in Eastern Europe," the expert said.

Valentyn Haidai, director of the Intermarium Institute and a PhD in history, in turn said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently visited Middle Eastern monarchies, resulting in a number of agreements on cooperation in the military-industrial sector.

He described this as "very beneficial for Ukraine, both in terms of exporting its technologies and products and in terms of enhancing the country's role on the international stage."

"Our experience is unique and immense globally. It does not exist anywhere else. Yes, we do not claim to be the world's number one army, but we are probably the number one in terms of efficiency in intercepting aerial targets, particularly drones," Haidai said.

He also added that Ukraine's influence in the Middle East as well as in the Baltic–Black Sea region is increasing.

"And I believe it is quite realistic that Ukraine could become a regional leader, not necessarily in the immediate years, but within a 5–6–10 year perspective. And I think our defense capability will be the key trump card in this," the Intermarium Institute director added.

Serhiy Yahodzinsky, vice-rector of the European University and a political expert, noted that Saudi Arabia, thanks to this assistance, could become a diplomatic ally of Ukraine.

"This reserve diplomatic front, this platform, is very much needed today. You can see that the United States, unfortunately, is not currently stable in terms of supporting the negotiation track… Therefore, we need to look for additional diplomatic platforms, and Saudi Arabia is one of them," he said.

Haidai, in turn, noted that Gulf and Middle Eastern countries usually take a neutral position when voting on pro-Ukrainian UN resolutions.

"But if we demonstrate that we can not only export butter and sugar to them, but also technologies and protection of their skies and lives, I think this will be a very strong argument for them to support us on the international stage," he said.

At the same time, Yahodzinsky emphasized that "when Ukraine helps Middle Eastern countries achieve security, as a contributor to security, the American public supports Ukraine."

"When we talk about countries that maintain neutrality, including with regard to the war in Ukraine, we underestimate their potential… Today we can win them over by offering them a concept of global security," he added.

According to Starikov, "Ukraine today is a country that not only defends itself, but also helps defend the world."