Smoke rises from a building in central Tehran following a US airstrike, 2 March 2026. Photo: EPA / Abedin Taherkenareh
A prolonged bombing campaign by the US and Israel in Iran could deprive Ukraine of key air defence systems it needs to intercept Russian missiles and drones launched at its cities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Monday.
Speaking to reporters as the unprecedented military action against Iran entered its third day, Zelensky said that “a long war — if it is long — and the intensity of the military actions will affect the amount of air defences for us” given that the US would prioritise supplying the systems to its bases in the Middle East to protect them from retaliatory strikes by Iran.
While Zelensky said he had not yet received any indication from the US or its European allies that its planned deliveries of air defence systems would be affected, he added that the prospect of supplies being disrupted “concerns” Kyiv, as Russia continues to intensify its airstrikes on Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that while he expected Washington’s campaign to last four to five weeks, it could go on for “much longer than that”.
Trump later wrote on Truth Social that Washington had a “virtually unlimited” supply of weapons that would allow it to fight “forever”, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the “hardest hits are yet to come from the US military”.
Iran has retaliated to the bombardment that has so far killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior military officials by striking countries with US military bases across the Gulf region, including the UAE.
Zelensky said that Iran’s retaliation could affect the next round of trilateral peace talks between the Ukraine, Russia and the US, which are set to take place in Abu Dhabi later this week.
“For now, because of these hostilities, we cannot confirm that the meeting will take place in Abu Dhabi,” Zelensky said, though he stressed that “the meeting itself has not been cancelled.”
The Ukrainian president also told Bloomberg on Monday that Kyiv could offer its support in helping Middle Eastern countries shoot down Iranian drones — on the condition that they persuade Vladimir Putin to cease hostilities in Ukraine for a month.
“I would suggest the following: leaders of the Middle East have great relations with Russians,” Zelensky said. “They can ask Russians to implement a month-long ceasefire.” If they did so, Kyiv would then send its best drone interceptors to share their more than four years of experience intercepting Iranian Shahed attack drones to aid US allies in the Gulf, Zelensky added.
