President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently revealed that teams of Ukrainian specialists are already working in the Middle East, helping partners defend against Iranian drones. It is an ironic outcome for Vladimir Putin, the leader who expected to crush Ukraine quickly, now has to take into consideration a country with unique expertise in modern warfare and knowledge that others need now.
Russia's war against Ukraine is no longer confined to Europe. It is transforming how modern wars are fought and revealing new geopolitical alignments.
For a couple of years already,waves of Iranian-made drones supplied to Russia have targeted Ukrainian cities, energy infrastructure and civilians.
Ukrainian forces use combined systems, electronic warfare, mobile fire units, networks of interceptor drones and improvised methods to intercept drones. Air-defence units coordinate radar detection with rapid-response teams, while engineers enhance electronic jamming.
The result is a constantly evolving defence system that many partners are now studying closely: how Ukraine integrates different tools, from advanced missile systems to low-cost tactical solutions, into a flexible defence against drone warfare.
Ukrainian forces have had to learn quickly: countering Iranian drones supplied to Russia, integrating Western weapons systems and adapting tactics almost in real time. The result is hard-earned knowledge that is now becoming valuable not only for Ukraine's defence but also for the security of other nations.
NATO militaries and defence planners increasingly study Ukraine's experience in countering drone warfare.Countries in the Middle East now seek Ukrainian expertise precisely because it has faced and fought this threat at scale.
In its war against Ukraine, the Kremlin relies more on external support from authoritarian states, where the military partnership with Iran is the most prominent example.
Tehran supplied Moscow with thousands of Iranian‑designed Shahed attack drones that have been used to strike Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure and also agreed on a collaboration that included transferring technology that enabled Russia to begin local production and deploy these systems on a much larger scale.
U.S. intelligence assessments warn that a broader authoritarian network may be forming around this cooperation. Analysts have raised concerns about potential Chinese support to Iran that could strengthen Tehran's military capabilities and, indirectly, Russia's war efforts. (Robert Lansing Institute) (CNN)
Four years into the full-scale invasion and fourteen years since the occupation of Crimea and Russia's war in Eastern Ukraine, Russia still has failed to achieve its goals: Ukraine remains independent and has military forces far more capable than the Kremlin anticipated.
Finland's decision alone extended Russia's border with NATO by 1,340 kilometres.Moscow, though, met this historic shift with relative indifference. This way, Russia's war isn't a reaction to NATO, but a calculated campaign of imperial ambitions.
Ukrainian forces have developed practical expertise in drone defence, electronic warfare, battlefield innovation and the integration of Western and domestic technologies under constant pressure and attacks, both on the battlefield and on civilians.
In trying to destroy Ukraine, the Kremlin may have done something far more consequential: it helped create one of the most battle-tested militaries of the modern era. Russia's war was meant to break Ukraine.Instead, it weakens itself: societal development, economic gains, and, most importantly for its imperial ambitions, the image of an unstoppable, invincible state.
As a result, Ukraine is not a victim anymore,
it is not only a frontline defender of European security but also a crucial source of knowledge for democratic partners preparing for future wars.
Russia's increasing cooperation with Iran and the possible involvement of other authoritarian powers once again underline another questionable trend: the rise of transnational military collaboration among regimes aiming to challenge global norms and institutions.
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This publication was compiled with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. It's content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.
