Ukraine Lends a Hand

Last week, my colleague Kim Barker, who has been reporting on Ukraine, got an unexpected invitation. Would she like to accompany the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to the front line in eastern Ukraine?

This kind of invitation is unusual, and I wanted to ask Kim what she thought prompted it during a week when Iran was dominating headlines. What I learned from our conversation is that while Ukraine might not be the focus of the news at the moment, it’s suddenly receiving an abundance of attention from countries defending themselves against Iranian attacks. They are eager to tap into Ukrainian expertise on the weapons currently shaping the battlefield more than any other: drones.

Why everyone wants to talk to Ukraine

Kim, I remember you telling me that you’ve been wanting to talk to Zelensky forever. Then last week he called and invited The Times to come with him to the front line. Why now?

The world’s attention has shifted to the war in Iran. It was on Ukraine in February, with the fourth anniversary of the war and these trilateral peace talks going on, and now it’s completely gone.

So Zelensky is trying to get his message out there. And his message to the world is that Ukraine is willing to help out with drones in the Middle East, but also that Ukraine still needs help. He wants to make clear that he’s not going to be pressured into a deal with Vladimir Putin. He’s not going to trade away the Donbas — the territory Russia keeps pushing for as part of any peace deal — just because people are tired of this war.

You mentioned drones. Ukraine’s experience of fighting a drone war is clearly very valuable to those currently fighting Iranian drones, right?

It’s definitely an opportunity for Ukraine to show off all the technological innovations it has made in fighting this war.

The Ukrainians are watching these countries in the Middle East use these very expensive Patriot interceptor missiles to shoot down cheap Iranian Shahed drones. It’s like using a bazooka to shoot down a fly.

But Ukraine has really figured this out. It’s been defending against these drones for years, and has developed interceptor drones for this purpose. Last year only 14 percent of Russian drones got through; the others were all shot down.

So after all these years of Zelensky asking for more weapons from the United States, last Thursday it was America’s turn to ask Ukraine for help — with drones. (Read Kim’s story about that request for help here.)

And the U.S. isn’t the only country calling Ukraine for assistance.

Everybody is calling them! Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the Emirates, Jordan. Zelensky was on a call with [the Saudi crown prince] M.B.S. when we were on the train to the front line. The call got cut because of bad reception. Everyone is calling him and asking: How do we fight this? What’s the best way to do this? Can you give us any technology?

How much leverage does that give Zelensky?

I think any idea of a quid pro quo on this was not really on the table, because the U.S. has helped Ukraine so much over the past four years. Zelensky knows if the U.S. calls and asks for something, he’s going to say yes.

But he hopes it will help him in the negotiations with Russia. You’ve got Trump suggesting that Zelensky is the impediment to peace here and that Putin somehow wants peace, even though there’s no indication that Putin does.

So being helpful on Iran has been a way for Ukraine to show that it’s willing to bend, to give certain things — while Russia’s not giving a lot. In fact, Russia has shared intelligence with Iran on the location of U.S. troops and bases, according to U.S. officials.

He did tell us he’s hoping in exchange for his interceptor drones, he can get some Patriot interceptor missiles, which he needs, because Russia is still firing missiles at Ukraine, not just drones.

How do the Ukrainians feel observing this war, and seeing these countries burning through hundreds of Patriot missiles over the course of a little more than a week? Are they feeling a little cynical?

You now hear people say that if Ukraine had been given the same help in the first week that these Middle Eastern countries have been given to fight Iran, then they would not be in the situation. The Ukraine war would have ended a long time ago.

What are these two wars telling us about the ways warfare has changed?

Things are happening on the battlefield that still feel like science fiction — like this unmanned ground vehicle race between Russia and Ukraine. The fact that you have a lot of injured or even dead soldiers being rescued or collected from the battlefield by drones — things are changing so fast.

(Read Kim’s account of her trip with Zelensky from Kyiv to the Donetsk region, in which, among other details, she describes watching a drone fly over her vehicle convoy, unsure whether it was Ukrainian or Russian.)

MORE TOP NEWS

The latest on Iran

President Trump, who is seeking to calm energy markets, gave conflicting signals yesterday about whether the war in Iran was near an end. He said in an interview that it “is very complete, pretty much,” and “we’re very far ahead of schedule.” He later told a group of Republican lawmakers: “We have won in many ways, but not enough.”

The oil and natural gas that usually flow through the Strait of Hormuz have slowed to a trickle because of the fighting, causing energy-price spikes and other economic fallout. Economists say higher fuel prices could make food more expensive.

Finance ministers from the Group of 7 industrialized countries said they would consider releasing oil from reserves to boost supply, but not just yet. Asian countries, which are heavily dependent on fossil fuels from the Middle East, also have been trying to contain the damage. South Korea said it would cap prices at the pump for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Other developments:

France will send a large naval force to the Middle East. President Emmanuel Macron said the warships would help protect allies in the region, and could be part of a force to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Israeli forces raided a new area of southern Lebanon yesterday, part of a stated effort to expand a military-controlled buffer zone.
Since the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran began, at least 11 civilians have been killed in the Gulf nations. All but one of them were foreign nationals.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, could prove to be even more radical than his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Another ballistic missile launched from Iran entered Turkish airspace and was shot down by NATO defenses.
Iranian airstrikes on Bahrain wounded dozens of people and sparked a fire near a petroleum refinery, according to the Bahraini authorities.
Follow our live updates here.

Read about how The New York Times reports on the war in Iran and beyond.

OTHER NEWS

A trial began in Turkey for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top rival, Ekrem Imamoglu, who is accused of corruption. Critics say it’s an attempt to eliminate a political foe.
Two men were charged with trying to support ISIS after a homemade bomb was thrown near the New York City mayor’s official residence during a demonstration.
A synagogue in Liège, Belgium, was damaged by an explosion in what the interior minister called “an antisemitic act.”

Top of The World

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SPORTS

Football: Australia granted humanitarian visas to five members of Iran’s national women’s soccer team after Iranian state media labeled the players “traitors” for not singing the national anthem during a tournament held in Gold Coast.

Paralympics: The skier Varvara Voronchikhina won Russia’s first winter Paralympic gold medal in 12 years.

NUMBER OF THE DAY

236

— The total number of adult kakapos, a reclusive, flightless and endangered parrot species found only in New Zealand. Their numbers have been helped by a bumper crop of fruit from coniferous rimu trees, which provide critical nourishment to chicks.

MORNING READ

For decades, the southern Chinese town of Maotai, in Guizhou province, boomed off strong sales of “baijiu,” a potent grain spirit whose most prized brand is produced locally at the Kweichow Moutai factory. Now, it has fallen on hard times.

A nationwide ban on drinking alcohol at official banquets, as well as the economic slowdown and the younger generation’s more health-conscious habits, have dented the town’s fortunes. These days, eager to win young customers, Kweichow Moutai has developed baijiu-scented ice creams and a Moutai-flavored latte. Read more.

AROUND THE WORLD

The knitters making a point in Denmark

On their walks to school in central Copenhagen, Louise Moerup and her son would often discuss a naked statue of Venus in a park and wonder why there weren’t more statues of real women. She decided to take that question public with a gentle provocation: knitting a striped halter dress and slipping it over the statue’s head.

Her actions inspired a broader protest against the gender imbalance in Denmark’s public monuments, which are mostly of men or nude women. Knitters and crocheters across the country took up their needles, and photos began pouring in of statues in sweaters — to say nothing of shawls, skirts and bikinis. Read more about the knitting protest.

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RECIPE

This recipe for Jamaican stew peas offers a few smart shortcuts, such as swapping traditional red kidney beans for lentils. Prepare some optional spinners — tapered, tubular dumplings — while the legumes cook.