KAYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian military personnel are expected to arrive in the Gulf soon to help countries there fend off Iranian drone attacks, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP on Friday.

 

President Volodymyr Zelensky said one day earlier that the United States had appealed for help from Kyiv downing Iranian drones that have been pummelling Israel and the Gulf over recent days.

 

Those Iranian strikes across the region have come in response to US and Israeli attacks against Tehran that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

 

"The arrival of Ukrainian military personnel in the Persian Gulf is expected in the near future," the source told AFP, cautioning that talks were still underway to "determine how to make this happen" and that: "Right now everything is being decided."

 

Kyiv has developed a range of cheap and effective drone interceptors , aerial craft designed to hit incoming attack drones mid-air , since Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago.

 

Russia has deployed thousands of the Iranian-designed Shahed drones against Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure, including energy facilities.

 

Zelensky has said that in return for Ukrainian anti-drone help, Gulf countries could provide Kyiv with missiles for air defence systems that were supplied to Ukraine by Western countries.

 

He has also suggested that Gulf countries with open ties to the Kremlin could pressure Russia to halt its war in Ukraine in return for Ukrainian military support.

 

"We need missiles for Patriots, funding for weapons production for our defence, and diplomatic support to end the war here," the source told AFP.

 

"Depending on our partners' capabilities, we determine what it can be," the source added, referring to what Ukraine could receive in return.

 

A top manager from the Ukrainian defence sector separately told AFP that there was "a lot of interest" in Ukrainian anti-drone warfare from "private and public channels" in Gulf countries.

 

"It's not only about the products or gadgets, it's also about complex solutions that consist with gadgets, solutions, teams," said the manager, who asked not to be named to speak on sensitive military issues.

 

That source said that requests had come from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the United States.

 

"It gives us a lot of geopolitical power. It gives us a chair near these big geopolitical powers, so it's very important for us and for our country," the defence sector source said.

 

The source added that solutions could be provided from "a couple days to a couple weeks."