Zelensky Says Ukraine Sent Drone Team to Defend U.S. Bases in Jordan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told The New York Times that Ukraine has dispatched interceptor drones and a team of drone experts to help protect U.S. military bases in Jordan from Iranian‑designed attack drones, saying the U.S. asked for assistance on Thursday and that his government “reacted immediately.” Zelensky said he agreed at once to the request and that the Ukrainian team departed the next day and is expected to arrive in the Middle East soon, though the White House declined to confirm whether it had sought Ukraine’s help. Kyiv is leveraging its battlefield experience countering Iranian‑designed Shahed drones used by Russia to position itself as an active contributor to the U.S.–Israeli war effort against Iran, hoping to strengthen its hand in American‑brokered peace talks over Russia’s invasion. The report underscores how the Iran war is reshaping alliances, drawing Ukraine more tightly into U.S. security operations even as Trump publicly portrays Zelensky as more of an obstacle to peace than Vladimir Putin, a stance that has stirred sharp debate among U.S. foreign‑policy analysts and online commentators. The move also highlights that U.S. forces are relying not only on their own systems but on partner nations’ hard‑won drone‑defense expertise to protect American troops in the region.