Ukraine Repeats Offer to Provide 1,000 Interceptor Drones Per Day to Allies

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated an offer to supply allies fighting against Iran with 1,000 interceptor drones every day as the war led by the United States and Israel continued into its third week.

Zelenskyy’s pitch to provide the interceptor drones for the fight in Iran was part of a plan to ask officials in the United Kingdom for more funding to pay for drone production in Ukraine.

“We can produce more—it depends on investment,” Zelenskyy posted on X on March 17. “We need about 1,000 interceptors a day, and we can supply at least another 1,000 a day to our allies.”

Zelenskyy was in London meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other UK officials at 10 Downing Street to sign a new defense agreement to solidify their ongoing military cooperation against Russia.

The Ukrainian president said Ukraine also builds radar and acoustic coverage to respond to Russian “Shaheds,” which are Iranian-designed attack drones used extensively against Ukraine. Zelenskyy told CNN he believed Russia was also supplying Iran with Shahed drones to use against the United States and Israel.

“If a ‘Shahed’ needs to be stopped in the Emirates—we can do it,” Zelenskyy said. “If it needs to be stopped in Europe or the United Kingdom—we can do it. It is a matter of technology, investment, and cooperation.

Last week, Zelenskyy said he wanted to sign a “big drone production deal” with the United States but was waiting for approval from the White House. The proposed deal included orders for different kinds of drones and air defense, according to Zelenskyy’s statement on X March 12.

“We didn’t have the opportunity to sign this document yet,” Zelenskyy said. “I hope that maybe American friends will be closer to this decision now, especially after such challenges as we see in the Middle East.”

President Donald Trump rejected the idea of getting drones from Ukraine in an interview with FOX News host Brian Kilmeade March 13.

“We don’t need the help in drone defense,” Trump said. “We know about drones more than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually.”

A White House official also told The Epoch Times that Operation Epic Fury had been a “resounding success,” with Iranian ballistic missile attacks down 90 percent and drone attacks down 95 percent.

Ukraine increased its production capacity for making interceptor drones by 800 percent this year and now has 20 companies working in the field, according to Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.

In the past year, the country produced 100,000 interceptor drones to counter Russian Shaheds.

The decision to mass-produce the cheaply made drones was based on economics, according to the security council.

“Ukraine cannot shoot down hundreds of enemy drones daily with expensive air defense missile,” the council stated. “Shooting down one Shahed with an interceptor drone costs over 25 times less than using a Western-model air defense missile.”