Ukraine's opportunity to share its anti-drone expertise with Middle Eastern partners carries a serious risk: the technology could leak to Russia through countries where Russian military-industrial figures operate freely, former Ambassador Serhiy Korsunsky has warned.
Korsunskyy raised the alarm during a broadcast with Yuriy Romanenko on March 5, as "Hvylya" reported.
"That's the worst thing that could happen - if, while helping third countries, we reveal our most advanced defense systems, and this causes indescribable joy in Moscow," the diplomat said. He singled out the United Arab Emirates, where "people who've been there report that there are quite a few Russians, to put it mildly. Russians who aren't exactly poor guys and who are connected to the military-industrial complex."
The risk is not hypothetical. Ukraine has spent nearly four years developing and refining anti-drone systems in live combat against Russian Shaheds - creating a body of expertise no other country possesses. Sharing it without rigorous intelligence safeguards could hand Moscow the tools to neutralize Ukraine's own defenses. "Everything must be done wisely," Korsunsky stressed.
The diplomat acknowledged that the opportunity is genuine and enormous. The US has already requested Ukrainian anti-drone systems, and President Zelensky has offered to send specialists. The exchange formula - Ukrainian drone-fighting technology for Patriot missiles Ukraine cannot manufacture - makes strategic sense for both sides. But Korsunskyy insisted that "we need to be absolutely certain that what we provide will be used for the purposes our partners intend," and that all transfers must happen under proper intelligence cover.
Also read: "You Could Have Asked Us": Ukraine's Drone Experts Watched Gulf States Struggle With Shaheds