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KYIV, Ukraine — Four years of trading blows with one of the world’s most powerful militaries have come at enormous cost in blood and treasure for Ukraine.
Yet holding the line against Russia also has earned the outnumbered and underfunded Ukrainians a reputation for creative, cost-effective and surprisingly successful new battlefield strategies. This war-tested expertise is suddenly in huge demand.
In recent days, Kyiv has signed a series of long-term defense cooperation agreements with three Persian Gulf states. Analysts say the move reflects Ukraine’s broader effort to transform from a wartime aid recipient into a global security partner.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Kyiv had negotiated 10-year agreements with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar after his regional tour, which was aimed at deepening military and industrial ties.
Although the deals vary in scope, they share a common objective: to export Ukraine’s hard-won expertise in drone warfare, air defense and electronic warfare to a region facing a growing threat from missile and drone attacks.
“This is a partnership for 10 years,” Mr. Zelenskyy said in remarks broadcast on Ukrainian television. He said the discussions included co-production, technology transfers and long-term financing of defense manufacturing.
The most concrete of those three agreements was signed with Qatar, where military chiefs concluded a formal intergovernmental framework covering joint defense projects, industrial cooperation and technology partnerships.
In Saudi Arabia, the agreement signed by the defense ministry is more of a framework to enable contracts, investments and joint programs than a commitment to specific purchases.
With the United Arab Emirates, cooperation has been agreed in principle while technical details are being finalized, Ukrainian officials said.
Taken together, the agreements point to a new model of defense cooperation that goes beyond arms sales to include co-production, training and long-term industrial partnerships.
Ukrainian officials say they are not merely exporting technologies. Instead, Kyiv is offering what Mr. Zelenskyy described as an integrated approach to defense: not only interceptors but also command systems, electronic warfare capabilities and operational expertise developed over more than four years of high-intensity war with Russia.
That experience is now in high demand in the Gulf, where recent attacks from Iran and its regional allies have exposed critical vulnerabilities in civilian and oil infrastructure, particularly to low-cost drones modeled on Iran’s Shahed systems.
More than 200 Ukrainian specialists have been deployed to the region, officials said. They have been tasked with advising local forces on how to counter such threats and integrate air defense systems more effectively.
The pitch is straightforward: Ukraine has faced and adapted to the kinds of attacks Gulf states now fear.
For Kyiv, the push is as much economic as it is strategic. After years of expansion at breakneck speed, Ukraine’s defense industry now has production capacity that far exceeds the state’s purchasing power.
“Today, Ukrainian companies can produce roughly six times more than the government can afford to buy,” lawmaker Halyna Yanchenko told The Washington Times. She said delays in export policy risk squandering a rare opportunity.
Ms. Yanchenko advocates what she calls the “licensing, joint production and the building of manufacturing capacity abroad,” a model that goes beyond simply shipping finished weapons.
That approach is reflected in the Gulf agreements, which include provisions for co-production in Ukraine and in partner countries, as well as long-term financing commitments tied to defense output.
A race to open export channels
Industry officials say the stakes are high.
“It is necessary to put in place all the decisions required to allow Ukraine’s industrial base to export,” Serhiy Vysotskyi, deputy head of the National Association of Ukrainian Defense Industries, told The Times. “If nothing is done, Ukraine risks becoming just a testing ground or a bank of technologies that others will later exploit.”
Estimates from the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council suggest defense exports could reach several billion dollars this year, including equipment, components and services. Unlocking that potential depends on regulatory changes and political decisions being debated in Kyiv.
The Gulf agreements highlight a broader shift in Ukraine’s wartime strategy.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Kyiv has relied heavily on Western military aid to sustain its defense. Now, officials are seeking to leverage the country’s combat experience to assume a parallel role as a security provider.
Mr. Zelenskyy said Ukraine has already received interest from at least 11 additional countries in the Middle East and beyond.
This renewed effort is also tied to geopolitical timing: As tensions in the Middle East rose and drone warfare became more widespread, Ukraine’s experience — particularly in defending against mass, low-cost aerial attacks — has gained new relevance.
In that sense, the war that has strained Ukraine’s economy and infrastructure has created a unique export commodity: real-world expertise in modern, high-intensity warfare.
Between dependence and ambition
The shift remains incomplete.
Ukraine still depends on Western financing and military support to sustain its war effort. As significant as they may be, the Gulf deals do not change that reality in the short term.
Nonetheless, they do suggest an emerging strategy: using wartime innovation to secure long-term industrial partnerships, attract foreign investment and reshape the country’s position in the global defense market.
If successful, the approach could allow Kyiv to turn the experience of war into a durable source of economic and geopolitical leverage.
For now, the agreements signal intent and a bet that the lessons learned on Ukraine’s front lines can be exported far beyond them.
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