Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says expert teams are on the ground in some Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to help counter Iranian drone strikes, weapons Kyiv is well versed in, as Russia has used them during its war, Al Jazeera reports.

During an interview with France’s Le Monde newspaper, Zelensky said the amount of air defence systems in the region alone is not enough to be fully effective.

“There are modern interceptors designed to counter heavy drone strikes. Now, we are discussing future deliveries of certain equipment that Ukraine has. We want Middle Eastern countries to give us the opportunity to strengthen ourselves as well. They have some air defence missiles that we lack,” he said.

“We would like to reach agreements on this. Funding is the scarcest resource today. Our defence industry is currently operating at half capacity, and we need more financing to produce drones for ourselves.”