Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concern that a prolonged U.S.-Israeli war on Iran could further erode America’s support for Ukraine as Washington’s global priorities shift and Kyiv braces for reduced deliveries of critically needed Patriot air defence missiles.

Ukraine desperately needs more U.S.-made Patriot air defence systems to help it counter Russia’s daily barrages, Mr. Zelenskyy said, speaking to The Associated Press in an exclusive interview on late Saturday (April 4, 2026) in Istanbul.

Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago has killed thousands of civilians. It has also targeted Ukraine’s energy supply to disrupt industrial production of Ukraine’s newly developed drones and missiles, while also denying civilians heat and running water in winter.

“We have to recognize that we are not the priority for today,” Mr. Zelenskyy said. “That’s why I am afraid a long (Iran) war will give us less support.”

No sign of a breakthrough in Russia-Ukraine talks

The latest U.S.-brokered talks between envoys from Moscow and Kyiv ended in February with no sign of a breakthrough. Mr. Zelenskyy, who has accused Russia of “trying to drag out negotiations” while it presses on with its invasion, said Ukraine remains in contact with U.S. negotiators about a potential deal to end the war and has continued to press for stronger security guarantees.

But, he said, even those discussions reflect a broader loss of focus from Ukraine.

His most immediate concern, Mr. Zelenskyy said, are the Patriots — essential for intercepting Russian ballistic missiles — as Ukraine still lacks an effective alternative.

These U.S. systems were never delivered in sufficient quantities to begin with, Mr. Zelenskyy said, and if the Iran war doesn’t end soon, “the package — which is not very big for us — I think will be smaller and smaller day by day.”

“That’s why, of course, we are afraid,” he said.

Ukraine’s Patriot purchases

Mr. Zelenskyy had been counting on European partners to help make the Patriot purchases despite tight supply and limited U.S. production capacity.

But the Iran war, now in its sixth week, has sent shock waves through the global economy and pulled in much of the wider West Asia region, further straining these already limited resources, diverting stockpiles and leaving Ukrainian cities more exposed to ballistic strikes.

Also read: Israel-Iran war LIVE updates

For Kyiv, a key objective is to weaken Moscow’s economy and make the war prohibitively costly. Surging oil prices driven by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz are undermining that strategy by boosting the Kremlin’s oil revenues and strengthening Moscow’s capacity to sustain its war effort.

Zelenskyy on war in West Asia

In his interview with the AP, Mr. Zelenskyy said Russia draws economic benefits from the the war, citing the limited easing of American sanctions on Russian oil.

“Russia gets additional money because of this, so yes, they have benefits,” he said.

To keep Ukraine on the international agenda, Mr. Zelenskyy has offered to share Ukraine’s hard-earned battlefield expertise with the United States and allies to develop effective countermeasures against Iranian attacks.

Ukraine has met Russia’s evolving use of Iranian-made Shahed drones with growing sophistication, technological ingenuity and low cost.

Moscow significantly modified the original Shahed-136, rebranded as the Geran-2, enhancing its ability to evade air defenses and be mass produced. Ukraine responded with quick innovation of its own, including low-cost interceptor drones designed to track and destroy incoming drones.

Mr. Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to share with Gulf Arab countries targeted by Iran its experience and technology, including interceptor drones and sea drones, which Ukraine produces — more than are used up — with funding from Americans and its European partners.

In return, these countries could help Ukraine “with anti-ballistic missiles,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

In late March, as the Iran war escalated, Mr. Zelenskyy visited Gulf Arab states to promote Ukraine’s singular experience in countering Iranian-made Shahed drones, leading to new defense cooperation agreements.

Mr. Zelenskyy has also positioned Ukraine as a potential partner in safeguarding global trade routes, offering assistance in reopening the Strait of Hormuz by sharing Ukraine’s experiences securing maritime corridors in the Black Sea.

Mr. Zelenskyy was in Istanbul for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a day after the Turkish leader spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Zelenskyy said they discussed peace talks and a possible meeting of leaders in Istanbul. He also said there could be new defense deals signed between the two countries soon.

Each year as the weather improves, Russia moves its grinding war of attrition up a notch. However, it has been unable to capture Ukrainian cities and has made only incremental gains across rural areas. Russia occupies about 20% of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014.

On the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line stretching across eastern and southern parts of Ukraine, short-handed Ukrainian defenders are getting ready for a new offensive by Russia’s larger army.

The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Russian troops have in recent days made simultaneous attempts to break through defense lines in several strategic areas.

One thing Mr. Zelenskyy says he has insisted on and will continue to do so — a territorial compromise and giving up land will not be on Ukraine’s agenda.

Published – April 05, 2026 11:44 am IST

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin used their final meeting on Thursday (January 10, 2025) to press the incoming Trump administration not to give up on Kyiv’s fight, with Austin warning that to cease military support now “will only invite more aggression, chaos and war.”

“We’ve come such a long way that it would honestly be crazy to drop the ball now and not keep building on the defense coalitions we’ve created,” Mr. Zelenskyy said. “No matter what’s going on in the world, everyone wants to feel sure that their country will not just be erased off the map.”

President-elect Donald Trump’s pronouncements about pushing for a quick end to the war, his kinship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and uncertainty over whether he will support further military aid to Ukraine have triggered concern among allies.

The Biden administration has worked to provide Ukraine with as much military support as it can, including approving a new $500 million package of weapons and relaxing restrictions on missile strikes into Russia, with the aim of putting Ukraine in the strongest position possible for any future negotiations to end the war.

Mr. Austin doubled down on Mr. Zelenskyy’s appeal, saying “no responsible leader will let Putin have his way.”

And while Mr. Austin acknowledged he has no idea what Mr. Trump will do, he said the international leaders gathered Thursday at Ramstein Air Base talked about the need to continue the mission.

Uncertainty on U.S. support for Kyiv

The leaders were attending a gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a consortium of about 50 partner nations that Austin brought together months after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 to coordinate weapons support.

“I’m leaving this contact group not with a farewell but with a challenge. The coalition to support Ukraine must not flinch. It must not falter. And it must not fail,” Austin said during his final press conference. “Ukraine’s survival is on the line. But so is all of our security.”

Some discussed what they would do if the U.S. backed away from its support for Kyiv, if the contact group would assume a new shape under one of its major European contributors, such as Germany. Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said his country and several other European nations are discussing options.

Mr. Austin said the continuation of the group is essential, calling it “the arsenal of Ukrainian democracy” and “the most consequential global coalition in more than 30 years.”

President Joe Biden was to have his final face-to-face meeting with Zelenskyy in the coming days in Rome, but he canceled the trip because of the devastating fires in California.

Pistorius said he intends to travel to the U.S. shortly after Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration to meet his new counterpart to discuss the issue.

“It’s clear a new chapter starts for Europe and the entire world just 11 days from now,” and it will require even more cooperation, Mr. Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine has launched a second offensive in Russia’s Kursk region and is facing a barrage of long-range missiles and ongoing advances from Russia as both sides seek to put themselves in the strongest negotiating position possible before Mr. Trump takes office.

Mr. Zelenskyy called the Kursk offensive “one of our biggest wins,” which has cost Russia and North Korea, which sent soldiers to help Russia, thousands of troops. Zelenskyy said the offensive resulted in North Korea suffering 4,000 casualties, but U.S. estimates put the number lower at about 1,200.

Mr. Zelenskyy said Ukraine will continue to need air defense systems and munitions to defend against Russia’s missile attacks.

The latest U.S. aid package includes missiles for air defense and for fighter jets, sustainment equipment for F-16s, armored bridging systems and small arms and ammunition.

The weapons are funded through presidential drawdown authority, meaning they can be pulled directly from U.S. stockpiles, and the Pentagon is pushing to get them into Ukraine before the end of the month.

Unless there is another aid package approved, the Biden administration will leave about $3.85 billion in congressionally authorized funding for any future arms shipments to Ukraine. It will be up to Trump to decide whether or not to spend it.

“If Putin swallows Ukraine, his appetite will only grow,” Austin told the contact group leaders. “If tyrants learn that aggression pays, we will only invite even more aggression, chaos, and war.”

In the months since Trump’s election victory, Europeans have grappled with what that change will mean in terms of their fight to keep Russia from further advancing, and whether the post-World War II Western alliance will hold.

In recent days, Mr. Trump has threatened to take Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark — a NATO member — by military means if necessary. Such action would upend all norms of the historic NATO alliance and possibly require members to come to the defense of Denmark.

Austin declined to comment on Mr. Trump’s threat, but Pistorius called it “diplomatically astonishing.”

“Alliances are alliances, to stay alliances. Regardless of who is governing countries,” Pistorius said. “I’m quite optimistic that remarks like that won’t really influence U.S. politics after the 20th of January.”

Globally, countries including the U.S. have ramped up weapons production as the Ukraine war exposed that all of those stockpiles were woefully unprepared for a major conventional land war.

The U.S. has provided about $66 billion of the total aid since February 2022 and has been able to deliver most of that total — between 80% and 90% — already to Ukraine.