Zelenskiy Signs Drone Deal With Finland on UN General Assembly Sidelines
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he signed a drone deal with Finland's president in New York, the latest of about ten such agreements.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he signed a drone agreement with Finnish President Alexander Stubb in New York on Wednesday, the latest in a string of arrangements that pair Kyiv's battlefield-tested technical know-how with the manufacturing strength of partner countries.
Zelenskiy met Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere on the margins of the UN General Assembly, and thanked both leaders for their backing of Ukraine. Announcing the deal on Telegram, he called it an important step toward jointly protecting people and toward a stronger partnership between Ukraine and Finland, adding that Kyiv is ready to share with close friends the methods that have helped save lives.
When Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022, Ukraine had only limited experience with drone technology. It has since built up rapid expertise, including the ability to bring down unmanned aircraft, many of them of Iranian design. Kyiv has gone on to offer its know-how to a wide range of countries, several of them in the Middle East confronting Iranian weaponry.
Ukraine has now concluded drone deals with roughly ten countries and also has an accord with the European Union. In his address to the General Assembly on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said a security agreement had been reached with Australia as well.
He portrayed the drone arrangements as adaptable templates rather than one-size-fits-all pacts, describing them as ready-made security formats tailored to each country and region. Partners in the Gulf, the South Caucasus and across Europe are already working with Ukraine through such deals, he said.
According to Zelenskiy, drone capabilities allow countries to monitor borders, mountainous terrain and roads — tasks he said would otherwise be impossible — and also serve to protect infrastructure, build resilience and organise resources and defence forces so that critical infrastructure and transport keep functioning even under the most difficult conditions. Those goals, he said, form part of what the deals offer.