Volodymyr Zelensky continues to insist that the United States approached Ukraine with a request to help protect its military bases in the Middle East from potential Iranian attacks.
“We were approached by the United States of America regarding their bases on the territory of Middle Eastern countries. We were also approached by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait. With some, we are already working, and our expert teams are already on the ground—assessing the situation and sharing invaluable experience. We are now discussing the future supply of certain capabilities that Ukraine possesses,” he said in an interview with Le Monde.
At the same time, Donald Trump rejected the very notion of such requests, stating: “Zelensky is the last person from whom we need help.”
At the same time, Ukraine itself has come under sustained mass drone attacks in recent days. Reports from multiple regions indicate that not all drones are intercepted, with dozens reaching targets, including in the west of the country: in Lviv, a Shahed strike in the city center damaged a UNESCO heritage site near St. Andrew’s Church, while in Dnipro another drone struck a residential high-rise. Two people—a 67-year-old woman and a 74-year-old man—sustained severe injuries, including shrapnel wounds, lacerations, and traumatic brain injuries.