Trump Officials Seek Ukraine’s Help Against Iranian Drones

Donald Trump’s administration has asked Ukraine for help to counter Iranian drones, despite being very reluctant to help Kyiv over the Russian invasion.

The US is looking to intercept Iranian attacks on its military bases in the Middle East after Trump and Israel launched joint strikes on Tehran at the weekend, a move which has sparked a regional war.

Kyiv has expertise in this area because Iran has been exporting its Shahed drones to Russia for use against Ukrainian troops for much of the four-year conflict.

In a post on X, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there have been requests from the US, Europeans and other partners in the Middle East for advice from Kyiv on how to deal with these attacks.

He said: “They are seeking our expertise. We are open. If their representatives come, we will provide the expertise.”

But the US request comes after the Trump administration put relations with Ukraine under immense strain over the last year.

In his bid to end the war as soon as possible, Trump has repeatedly sided with Vladimir Putin, despite the US’s alliance with Ukraine.

A year ago, the president cornered Zelenskyy in the Oval Office in front of the press and claimed Ukraine “does not have the cards” in the war.

He also called Zelenskyy a “dictator” while his team also attacked the Ukrainian president for not wearing a suit.

While their alliance has improved in the months since, the US has remained wary about offering Ukraine much help.

At the same time, Trump has been rolling out the red carpet for Putin, even inviting him to face-to-face summit in Alaska last August.

The president pushed for trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US earlier this year but they have failed to make any significant progress so far.

In his frustration, Trump has repeatedly accused Ukraine of not coming to the table with further compromises over territory – even though that is a red line for Kyiv, especially as Russia already controls more than a fifth of its sovereign land.

The president has also echoed false Kremlin talking points by accusing Ukraine of starting the war – despite plenty of evidence to the contrary.

The Iran conflict has delayed the next round of trilateral meetings which were due to start today and run until March 9.

The US request has caused significant outrage on social media, too….