Last year, Ukraine offered US protection from "shaheds," but proposal was rejected, - Axios
Drone Industry
In August 2025, Ukraine offered the United States its battle-tested technology for shooting down Iranian-made attack drones. However, the United States rejected it.
This was reported by Axios, according to Censor.NET.
What is known?
According to the publication, a PowerPoint presentation was prepared demonstrating how this technology could protect American troops and their allies in the war in the Middle East.
The Trump administration rejected the proposal, but changed its mind last week due to an increase in Iranian UAV strikes.
"Snubbing Ukraine's offer ranks as one of the biggest tactical miscalculations by the administration since the bombing of Iran began Feb. 28," US officials say.
Axios recalls that cheap Iranian Shahed UAVs caused the deaths of seven American servicemen, and their interception cost the US and its friends in the region millions of dollars.
"If there's a tactical error or a mistake we made leading up to this [war in Iran], this was it," an American official admitted.
What was in the presentation?
It discussed the idea of creating "anti-drone centres" in Turkey, Jordan and the Persian Gulf countries, where US bases are located, to combat the threat from Iran and its allies.
It is noted that on 18 August, during a closed meeting, Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered Trump interceptor drones.
"At that meeting ... in August, Trump asked his team to work on it, but they have done nothing," says a Ukrainian official.
What preceded this?
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is receiving requests from Middle Eastern countries to share its experience in countering Iranian kamikaze drone attacks. In particular, such signals came from partners after drone attacks on civilian targets in the region.
- Ukraine can provide expert assistance to Middle Eastern countries in combating "Shahed" drones in exchange for missiles for Patriot air defence systems.
Strikes on Iran
- As a reminder, on the morning of 28 February, Israel launched an operation to bomb the Iranian capital Tehran. This is a joint operation with the US armed forces.
- Israel called the operation against Iran "Roaring Lion," and the US called it "Epic Fury."
- US President Donald Trump said that the goal of the operation against Iran was to "destroy Iran's missile industry and navy" and "ensure that Iran cannot destabilise the world."
- Trump accused Iran of "financing and training" militants in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Hamas in Palestine.
- The Israel Defence Forces reported that it had deployed more than 200 fighter jets to strike 500 targets in Iran.
- On the evening of 28 February, a senior Israeli official told Reuters that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been killed that morning in an Israeli air strike on Iran. His body had already been found.
- US President Donald Trump later confirmed the death of Ayatollah Khamenei.
- On 3 March, sources at Iran International TV reported that the son of the slain Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba, had been chosen as Iran's next supreme leader.
- Later, it became known that Iran's Assembly of Experts had not yet elected a new supreme leader.
- Later, the Iranian state agency Fars reported that the Council of Experts had approved the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's new supreme leader by a majority vote.
