Ukraine to dispatch counter-drone teams to Middle East as demand surges after ‘Operation Epic Fury’
Ukraine is sending drone defense specialists to the Middle East this week after 11 countries requested help countering Iranian-made drones fired in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes launched under Operation Epic Fury, Ukrainian officials said.
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Speaking at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, Ambassador Olha Stefanishyna said Kyiv’s response is designed to provide immediate, practical support rather than “concern or condolences,” emphasizing measures to secure cities and save lives as drone attacks intensify.
“These Shahed drones were developed and shipped to the Russian Federation deliberately to attack and target cities to kill civilians … and this is the same technology which was used after the beginning of the operation in Iran,” Stefanishyna said.
Since the U.S.-Israeli operation began, Iran has launched more than 1,500 drones, according to Ukrainian officials. Most have been intercepted by air defenses, but six U.S. service members were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait on March 1. The U.S. military has relied on Patriot interceptor missiles to counter the waves, an expensive approach when deployed at scale.
Stefanishyna hosted 17 Ukrainian defense-technology firms in Washington this week as part of a roadshow showcasing battlefield-tested systems built to counter massed drone assaults. A representative of Brave 1 — a Ukrainian government platform connecting innovators whose ideas and products can be used to defend Ukraine — said Ukrainian tools are built around cost-effective interception rather than missile-on-drone engagements.
Iryna Zabolotna of Brave 1 said Ukraine intercepted more than 15,000 drones in February. “That’s why we do understand how to operate with such a huge amount of drones in the air,” she said, adding that Ukraine relies on interceptor systems that cost about $5,000 to $15,000 per unit. “We don’t use missiles, we use interceptors, and they are more like in financial way wise.”
Pentagon officials reportedly told U.S. lawmakers last week that waves of Iranian-launched drones have been punching through air defenses in some instances, underscoring the strain on regional security architectures.
Separately, former President Donald Trump said last night that Iranian drones are being “blown up all over the place,” including at manufacturing sites. He did not provide further details.
Even as Ukraine shares its counter-drone expertise abroad, it continues to absorb sustained aerial attacks at home. Russian drones struck Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, and the southeastern city of Dnipro late yesterday and overnight, injuring more than 20 people, local officials said.
In Kharkiv — about 30 kilometers from the Russian border — a drone hit near a high-rise apartment building late yesterday, injuring seven people, shattering windows and setting cars ablaze, the city’s mayor and Ukrainian police said. A second strike overnight injured four people after a drone hit a road between buildings, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 137 drones across the country, of which 122 were downed or neutralized. In Dnipro, 10 people were injured, including a 12-year-old boy, regional Governor Oleksandr Ganzha said on Telegram. Mayor Borys Filatov said at least eight high-rise buildings were damaged in the attack, and images posted online showed rubble-strewn streets and scarred facades.
Additional reporting Reuters.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
