KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian military personnel have shot down Iranian-designed Shahed drones in multiple Middle Eastern countries during the Iran war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, describing the operations as part of a broader effort to help partners counter the same weapons used by Russia in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy made his first public acknowledgment of the operations Wednesday in remarks to reporters that were embargoed until Friday. He said Ukrainian forces took part in active operations abroad using domestically produced interceptor drones proven in countering Iranian-designed Shahed drones used by Russia in Ukraine.
“This was not about a training mission or exercises, but about support in building a modern air defense system that can actually work,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine took part in the defensive operations before the tentative ceasefire in the Middle East was reached among Iran, the United States and Israel this week.
Zelenskyy did not identify the countries involved but said Ukrainian personnel operated across several nations, helping strengthen their air defense systems. He previously said that 228 Ukrainian experts were deployed in the region.
In exchange, Ukraine is receiving weapons to protect its energy infrastructure, along with oil, diesel and, in some cases, financial arrangements, he said.
The Ukrainian leader said the agreements would bolster Ukraine’s energy stability and described the partnerships as something that would “be marketed” as Kyiv seeks to formalize and expand its defense export role.
“We are helping strengthen their security in exchange for contributions to our country’s resilience,” he said. “This is far more than simply receiving money.”
The disclosure comes amid concerns that conflict in the Middle East could divert Western military support from Ukraine, particularly air defense supplies.
But Zelenskyy said that partners were continuing to supply missiles for Patriot systems, adding that a new batch had arrived in recent days and that Ukraine was working with all partners to ensure its air defense remained in place.
He warned that the coming spring and summer would be difficult for Ukraine, with growing political and battlefield pressure as the United States turns to domestic politics and elections.
Zelenskyy said he had urged U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to visit Kyiv and proposed a trilateral format with Moscow. It remains unclear whether they will come or if talks will instead take place in a third country.
U.S.-led talks have made no progress on key issues, as Washington’s attention shifts to the Middle East conflict while Russian and Ukrainian forces remain locked in fighting along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line.
Separately, Zelenskyy said he expects Western allies to restore full sanctions on Russian oil, warning that any easing could allow Moscow to sustain its war effort and offload key energy assets. Russia has been profiting from a surge in global energy prices, brought on by damage to oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf and Iran’s blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital sea route for global oil supplies.
Ukraine has stepped up strikes on Russian energy sites to cut oil revenues as prices rose and U.S. sanctions eased. Zelenskyy said partners had urged Kyiv to scale back attacks during Iran’s disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, but he argued Russian oil has a limited impact on global markets.
“I won’t say who asked us to do this. But partners did ask — it’s a fact. They asked at different levels, from political to military leadership.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to mirror any ceasefire steps after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter truce.
“We proposed a ceasefire during the Easter holidays this year and will act accordingly”, Zelenskyy said Friday on X. “People need an Easter free from threats and real movement toward peace, and Russia has a chance not to return to strikes after Easter as well”.
Putin on Thursday declared a 32-hour ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter weekend, ordering Russian forces to halt hostilities from 4 p.m. Saturday until the end of Sunday.
Previous ceasefire attempts have had little impact, with both sides accusing each other of violations.
FILE - A Sting interceptor drone flies during drills at the Yatagan School for Unmanned Aerial Systems in the Kyiv region, Ukraine, on March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looks on after an interview with The Associated Press, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the two-week ceasefire over Iran's continued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, while Kuwait accused Iran and its proxies of launching drone attacks despite the ceasefire.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard denied launching attacks Thursday night on Persian Gulf states.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a potential boost to ceasefire efforts in the region when he said he had approved direct talks with Lebanon. The Lebanese government has not responded as of Friday morning.
The announcement came after Israel’s pounding of Beirut Wednesday killed more than 300 people. The negotiations are expected next week in Washington, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Questions remained over what will happen to Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium at the heart of tensions, how and when normal traffic will resume through the Strait of Hormuz, and what happens to Iran’s ability to launch future missile attacks and support armed proxies in the region.
Talks between the United States and Iran on a resolution to the conflict are expected to start Saturday in Islamabad, with the White House saying Vice President JD Vance would lead the U.S. delegation.
Here is the latest:
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung shared on his X account what appeared to be a 2024 video showing Israeli soldiers throwing a body from a rooftop in the occupied West Bank, and wrote: “humanitarian law must be observed under any circumstances.”
Lee in his posts Friday did not make a direct comment on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East or Israel’s current war operations, but said “lessons marked on the painful wounds of the past must not be repeated as recurring tragedies.”
Lee said the video, which he reposted from another account, was from a “shocking” incident in September 2024 that was also investigated by Israeli authorities. Lee’s office did not immediately provide an explanation why he posted those messages. Lee’s government earlier on Friday said it was sending senior diplomat Chung Byung-ha as a special envoy to Iran to discuss the safety of its citizens and Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the island state will not restrict fuel exports from its refineries due to Iran war disruptions. Singapore was Australia’s largest supplier of refined petroleum products.
“We do not plan to restrict exports. We didn’t have to do so even in the darkest days of COVID and we will not do so during this energy crisis,” Wong said at a news conference with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese. “It’s hypothetical. It won’t happen,” Wong added.
Albanese said Wong had given the same assurance in their bilateral meeting. “The prime minister’s just as confident in private as he is in public,” Albanese said.
Ukrainian military personnel shot down Iranian-designed Shahed drones in multiple Middle Eastern countries during the Iran war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, describing the operations as part of a broader effort to help partners counter the same weapons used by Russia in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy made his first public acknowledgment of the operations Wednesday in remarks to reporters that were embargoed until Friday.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces took part in active operations abroad using domestically produced, battle-tested interceptor drones.
Asian stocks were mostly up Friday while oil prices also rose on the fragile Iran war ceasefire and ahead of Iran-U.S. negotiations in Pakistan over the weekend.
South Korea’s Kospi was up 1.5% to 5,862.58. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.9% to 56,952.60.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.8% to 25,954.15, while the Shanghai Composite index was also 0.8% higher at 3,996.34.
Brent crude, the international standard, was 1% higher at $96.92 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude was up 0.8% to $98.62 a barrel.
For oil prices, “$65-70 a barrel is not coming back,” Ajay Rajadhyaksha of Barclays wrote in a recent research note, referring to the pre-Iran war oil price levels. The bank predicts that Brent crude could remain at around $85 per barrel on average for this year.
“A ceasefire is not a refund,” he wrote. “Ceasefires end wars; they don’t undo them.”
Pakistan’s capital fell unusually quiet Friday as authorities locked down Islamabad ahead of high-stakes talks between the United States and Iran aimed at securing a lasting ceasefire after weeks of war.
Roads lay nearly empty, checkpoints were set up at major arteries, and a two-day public holiday kept residents indoors.
Behind the calm, diplomatic activity intensified.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance is set to leave for Pakistan Friday, while an Iranian delegation was also expected there.
Security was tightened, with additional troops and police deployed across Islamabad.
Talks are set to begin Saturday, drawing global attention and placing Islamabad at the center of efforts to bring an end to the war.
Multiple times overnight into Friday morning, people around Iran’s capital, Tehran, and other parts of the country said they heard what sounded like air defense fire and explosions.
However, Iran’s government did not acknowledge any attack during that period.
After past exchanges of fire with Israel, similar incidents happened as troops remained on edge.
Japan said it will release an additional 20 days’ worth of oil reserves in May, in a second round address supply uncertainty over the war in the Middle East.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the planned release of the government reserves will start in early May, after an earlier release last month.
Japan started releasing about 50 days’ worth of oil reserves in March, including from those held by the state, the private sector and oil-producing Gulf nations.
As of April 6, Japan had 230 days’ worth oil reserves, including 143 days’ worth in government stockpiles, according to the Natural Resources and Energy Agency.
Takaichi said her government is working to secure oil imports via routes that do not include the Strait of Hormuz, while Japan seeks to diversify suppliers.
Pakistan said Friday it would issue visas on arrival for those traveling to Islamabad for the Iran-U.S. talks, signaling the interest in the world’s media in the event.
A Lebanese civil defense worker looks upward near the site of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike a day earlier in central Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A Lebanese civil defense worker looks on as an excavator operates on the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike a day earlier in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
People residing in an underground shelter pack up their belongings as they prepare to leave after the announcement of a two-week ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Men inspect the damage to their home destroyed in an Israeli airstrike a day earlier in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A government supporter weeps during a mourning ceremony marking the 40th day since the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S. and Israel strikes in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Displaced families extend their hands while waiting for donated food beside the tents they use as shelters after fleeing Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
