Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Bahrain on Monday for talks focused on "security cooperation," according to a source within the Ukrainian delegation.
Zelensky's Bahrain visit signals that Ukraine is actively leveraging its war experience to build new partnerships © X
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.
Speaking before the Security Council, UAE Minister of State Khalifa bin Shaheen Al Marar called Iran fully accountable for what he described as unlawful obstruction of international navigation — as more than 90 countries united behind the same demand.
Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of 69 people over what it described as sympathy with Iran's hostile acts and collaboration with foreign entities, the kingdom's interior ministry said in a statement.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economy maintained solid momentum in the third quarter of 2025, with nominal GDP reaching approximately US$595 billion, representing annual growth of 2.2 percent compared to the same period in 2024, according to data from GCC-Stat.
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