Zelensky lands in Bahrain for security cooperation talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Bahrain on Monday for talks focused on "security cooperation," according to a source within the Ukrainian delegation.

"We have landed. The objective of the visit is security cooperation," the source said, without providing further detail.

The visit takes place against a significant backdrop. Since the outbreak of the conflict triggered by the joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran on 28 February, several Gulf states have reportedly turned to Ukraine for assistance in intercepting Iranian drones and missiles fired at their territories — according to Kyiv.

The approach is far from surprising. Ukraine has accumulated unparalleled real-world experience in countering Iranian-made drone and missile attacks since Russia began deploying Shahed drones against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. 

That battlefield knowledge, covering detection, jamming, interception tactics and damage mitigation — has become one of Ukraine's most valuable strategic assets on the international stage.

For Gulf states absorbing Iranian strikes, Kyiv's expertise represents a practical and politically neutral source of assistance, one that carries no ideological baggage and comes with hard-won operational credibility.

Zelensky's Bahrain visit signals that Ukraine is actively leveraging its war experience to build new partnerships,  turning the tragedy of its own conflict into a source of strategic influence at a moment when the Middle East's security architecture is being fundamentally redrawn.