Zelensky: Ukraine Not Afraid of Iran Threats as Drone War ‘Tested’ on Kyiv Spreads Globally
Zelensky says Ukraine isn’t afraid of Iran’s threats, warning the drone war refined on Ukrainian civilians is now spreading to the Middle East and beyond.
Kyiv Post
75
5 min čtení
0 zobrazení
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine is not intimidated by Iranian threats and is warning that the drone warfare now destabilizing the Middle East was first developed and refined through years of attacks on Ukrainian cities.
“Nothing new,” Zelensky said when asked about Tehran’s warnings toward Ukraine. “We don’t [fear] any kind of such messages… We live with such messages each day.”
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Zelensky revealed how Russia’s use of Iranian-made Shahed drones evolved from limited strikes into a large-scale campaign that he says effectively turned Ukraine into a testing ground for increasingly advanced and lethal systems.
“Ukraine was kind of an experiment place for these drones in the end,” he said. “You can’t even compare the first class [of] Shahed… and today’s Shahed.”
Zelensky said Ukraine had tried early on to prevent Iran from supplying Shahed drones to Russia, warning Tehran directly that the weapons would be used against civilians.
“We asked them not to give weapons because otherwise, if they give them weapons, like Shahed, they will kill our civilians,” he said, adding that Kyiv warned Iran: “‘And you will be allies.’”
According to Zelensky, Iranian officials denied they were truly siding with Moscow and downplayed the scale of the transfers.
The president thanked frontline troops and said that Russia’s assault is falling far short of what its commanders promised their leadership in Moscow.
“They said that ‘Okay... we are not allies in this,’” he recalled. He said Iran claimed the deliveries would be limited: “‘We sold Russians this part of Shaheds, and it will be 1,200 or 1,300, and that’s all.’”
“But it was not true. They lied, of course,” Zelensky added.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine endured sustained drone barrages for years, with waves reaching hundreds per day.
“We had 350 or 500 Iranian drones, Shaheds, each day, each day and night,” he said, describing a level of intensity that allowed both Russia and Iran to continually refine the weapons.
He argued that these improvements came at a high cost to Ukrainian civilians, with drones used less for battlefield impact and more as tools of terror.
“Each time when we changed the technologies, they of course had this bloody experience, on our people, on our land,” Zelensky said. “Mostly, they use 99% of Shahed… to make practice on civilians.”
Zelensky said Iran’s involvement extended far beyond supplying drones. He accused Tehran of helping Russia establish domestic production, including providing licenses, technical expertise, and direct support.
“They gave licenses on production,” he said. “And they created and helped them build two factories.”
At the same time, he believes the cooperation has become reciprocal, with Russia now helping Iran improve its own drone capabilities.
Asked directly whether Moscow is transferring upgraded technology back to Tehran, Zelensky responded: “Yes, I’m sure.”
He pointed to evidence recovered from a downed drone in the Middle East that allegedly contained components not produced by Iran.
“We saw some details. It was Russian details. We know it because Iranians didn’t produce it,” he said.
Zelensky warned that the nature of the war is shifting, with Russia scaling back missile production in favor of cheaper, mass-produced drones designed for saturation attacks.
“They will go to the cheaper and cheaper drones, but to have hundreds of thousands of these drones,” he said.
The strategy, he added, is aimed at overwhelming air defenses while targeting critical infrastructure, including energy and water systems, to disrupt daily life and maximize civilian impact.
“They want to kill as many civilians as possible,” Zelensky said. “And they want to destroy energy, oil, gas, and any kind of power generation.”
He cautioned that countries in the Middle East now facing similar drone threats are confronting a danger that was years in the making.
“This is big knowledge from the battlefield,” Zelensky said. “All these will have impact on other regions… Africa, Middle East, and Europe.”
Ukraine, he said, is already sharing its experience. Kyiv has deployed military experts to assist partner countries in strengthening their air defense systems against Iranian drones.
“We are ready,” Zelensky said. “Now it’s up to the countries how to involve our expertise.”
He emphasized that Ukraine’s support is defensive in nature, focused on helping others counter drone attacks rather than conduct them.
“Air defense – it’s not attacks,” he said.
Zelensky also linked the growing threat to what he described as insufficient international pressure on Russia, particularly continued revenues from oil and gas exports that help fund its war machine.
“It’s a pity,” he said. “We don’t see the power in the world who can really stop Putin.”
He warned that any easing of sanctions would only accelerate Russia’s military production and deepen its cooperation with Iran.
In his telling, the partnership between Moscow and Tehran has produced not just weapons, but a model of warfare that is spreading – becoming cheaper, more scalable, and harder to stop.
Zelensky said the Israeli side had reached out about a potential call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that he was open to dialogue.
“He has what I need and I have what he needs. So, I’m ready for this dialogue,” he said.
