The Iran war has strengthened Ukraine in surprising ways. Could a ceasefire with Russia be closer?

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. The Iran war has strengthened Ukraine in surprising ways. Could a ceasefire with Russia be closer? 9 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Katya Adler Europe editor When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, serious-faced and clad in black, strolled down a lilac carpet in Saudi Arabia in March, it marked a moment in the US-Israeli war in Iran.

A rather unexpected one. In a post on X, he said his visit was to "strengthen the protection of lives". Zelensky, who carries the weight of Ukraine's own war with Russia on his shoulders, has been seizing the moment, flying to the Gulf to publicly showcase the international value and marketability of Kyiv's learned-on-the-battlefield military nous in drone warfare.

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Ukraine says it has now signed deals with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar - all hit by Iranian missiles and drones in recent weeks - to share drone expertise and technology, tightening alliances and benefitting from business - and it hopes defence deals - with wealthy US-allied countries. "We want to help defend themselves. And we will continue building such partnerships with other countries," Zelensky said.

Energy pressure Initially, the impact of the Iran conflict seemed overwhelmingly negative for Ukraine. It threatened to divert Donald Trump's already wavering attention from orchestrating peace efforts between Moscow and Kyiv, while pouring money into Russia's fast-emptying war chest. Moscow has been able to sell more of its oil to more countries, at higher prices as tankers carrying Middle Eastern oil are unable to reach global customers by crossing the Iran-bordering Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has renewed a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil because of spiralling costs worldwide. The more money Russia has, the longer and, in theory, harder, it can prosecute the war in Ukraine. But Kyiv has consistently confounded international expectations since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

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And now it's done so again: playing a deft hand at trying to turn the impact of the Iran war to its advantage, as Ukraine tries to get itself in the strongest position possible before eventual, hoped-for peace negotiations with Russia. Ukraine has been showcasing its battlefield nouse to the Gulf countries On Wednesday, Trump said he was confident a "solution" over Ukraine could be reached "relatively quickly" following a "very good" conversation with Vladimir Putin. "I think 'some people' (have) made it difficult for him to make a deal," he added.

It's not the first time Trump's made similar positive comments about Putin, while implicitly or explicitly criticising Ukraine's leader for not signing up to a ceasefire. A "solution" has yet to materialise. In the meantime, Zelensky has focussed on bolstering Ukraine where he can.

Opportunism is arguably one of his most potent weapons.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.