Zelenskyy: Drone Deal will include at least 10 Ukrainian arms export agreements

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the Drone Deal – an initiative Ukraine is proposing to its partners – will include at least 10 separate agreements on the export of Ukrainian weapons.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview aired on the joint 24/7 TV newscast on the evening of 19 April

Quote: "This Drone Deal will include at least 10 different agreements on various forms of Ukrainian arms exports, plus joint production and the construction of our production lines both in Ukraine and in other countries. It also covers exports and new technologies that we are developing together with various other countries where they are making the investments."

Details: Zelenskyy said the original proposal had been developed for the US but was not taken up by President Donald Trump.

Quote: "We prepared the Drone Deal for the US; I proposed it to President Trump. Although it is called the Drone Deal, it also includes a comprehensive defence system. People previously spoke about a 'dome', but in modern warfare this is not just a dome – it is a systemic approach. It encompasses drones, the interception of large-scale attacks, primarily with the use of drones, other air defence systems we have in service, electronic warfare systems and so on. In other words, a unique system that currently exists only in Ukraine due to the terrible war Russia is waging against Ukraine.

With the beginning of the war in the Middle East, our proposal – which was not as relevant a year ago when I first presented it to President Trump – has now become highly relevant."

Details: Zelenskyy said Ukraine already has 10-year agreements with three key Middle Eastern countries – the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. These include arrangements on annual funding levels.

"We have requests from 11 countries across the entire region. In other words, this is one such package. The second part is my actions and those of the entire team – the European dimension… Europe is where we are beginning our work with Germany, Norway, Italy and broadly with the Nordic countries, Sweden and the Netherlands. This is what we are already seeing and understanding. We have strong relations with the UK and France. I am confident that all this will also happen there," he added.

Background:

• US digital news outlet Axios reported on 10 March that last year that the US had supposedly turned down a Ukrainian proposal to share technology for intercepting Iranian drones and has since realised it made a mistake.
• "I don't know whether they rejected it, I'm not sure. But it is definitely a postponement and we have not signed the Drone Deal yet, but we are open to it. I would very much like to sign this agreement with the president of the United States. It is also very good for our companies," Zelenskyy commented on the claim.

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