Ukraine is shifting warfare from multimillion dollar rockets to thousand dollar drones and exposes the Pentagon's shortcomings

 

How the War in Iran Helped Ukraine Go From Problem to Solution

The Middle East quagmire has given Kyiv an unexpected lifeline—and a new hand to play

By

Yaroslav Trofimov

May 22, 2026 8:00 pm ET

Iran War Exposes Shortcomings in U.S. Military Industrial Base

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is taking on a problem that the Pentagon and Congress have tried, and mostly failed, to address for years.

By Julian E. Barnes

Reporting from Washington

May 19, 2026

President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly toured the Gulf in recent months, sending some 200 troops to showcase Ukrainian drone-interception technologies and to ink deals that could lead to investment and co-production. This followed the establishment of Ukrainian drone-manufacturing plants across Europe earlier this year, and the growing adoption of Ukrainian military innovation by Western militaries, particularly in Europe.

“Our technological game-changers have transformed the war. There is now a shift from seeing Ukraine as just a recipient of aid, as a consumer of security, to viewing it as a subject, a contributor to security,” Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister Mariana Betsa said in an interview. “Ukraine has shown leadership not just in the war against Russia, but also in the global conflict that now involves the Middle East.”