Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Netherlands President Rob Jetten, March 8, 2026

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Sunday’s Coverage: US Providing Ukraine-Tested Anti-Drone Systems to Partners

UPDATE 1753 GMT:

President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that Ukraine dispatched interceptor drones and operators to protect US bases in Jordan last week.

Zelensky said the US is one of 11 countries that asked Kyiv for help. Other requests came from “countries neighboring Iran” and “European states”. Some had been met with “concrete decisions and specific support”.

UPDATE 1047 GMT:

The Kremlin’s oil and gas revenues fell 44% in February compared to a year ago.

Russia’s Finance Ministry reported that oil and gas companies paid 423.3 billion rubles ($5.5 billion) last month. For January-February combined, oil revenues totaled 826 billion rubles ($10.7 billion), down 47% from 1.56 trillion rubles in the same period last year.

The decline came even as the average price of Russia’s Urals crude rose modestly from $41 to $45 per barrel.

Analysts at Alfa Bank estimate the deficit may have reached about 1.5 trillion rubles ($19.4 billion) in February and around 3.2 trillion rubles ($41.3 billion) for the first two months of the year — close to the government’s full-year deficit target of 3.8 trillion rubles.

The Kremlin is hoping that it will be saved by the US-Israel war on Iran with the spike in global oil prices. The Trump Administration has already loosened sanctions on, including a 30-day waiver to India, Russia’s second-largest customer.

UPDATE 1040 GMT:

President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine’s forces liberated up to 435 square km (168 square miles) of territory in the country’s south last month.

Ukrainian units went on the offensive in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, following Russian advances earlier this year, after Starlink access was cut to Moscow’s troops.

See also EA-Times Radio VideoCast: How Russia Lost Territory in Ukraine In February

Zelensky acknowledged that battlefield conditions remain difficult, “but I will say this, very cautiously, everyone is more positive than it was at the end of 2025”.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Kyiv’s drone experts will be on site in the Middle East next week.

Amid the US-Israel war on Iran, the experts will assist with defenses against Iranian retaliatory attacks.

Zelensky is seeking political and military support, including US-made air defense missiles, in return for Ukraine’s anti-drone expertise.

Asked for details, Zelensky said, “It is too early to say anything else at this stage….I think that next week, when the experts are on site, they will look at the situation and help.

The President and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten discussed joint arms production in Kyiv on Sunday. Zelensky said at a press conference:

We would very much like this to be an opportunity for both sides. It is important that we are producing weapons together with the Netherlands – and we will certainly continue and expand this joint work.