Relations between the presidents have warmed following a conflict at the White House in February 2025. Ukraine provided expert assistance to the US and Persian Gulf countries in combating Iranian drones.
The relationship between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has notably improved following a public dispute at the White House in February 2025, according to UNN citing The Guardian.
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One factor contributing to this rapprochement could be Ukraine’s assistance to the United States and Persian Gulf nations in countering Iranian drones amidst the war with Iran.
As the media outlet notes in its report, at the beginning of 2025, the relationship between the presidents was in crisis. After a sharp disagreement during a White House meeting, Zelensky left the US president’s residence prematurely, and Trump effectively refused to support the Ukrainian leader.
However, the situation began to change subsequently. The President of Ukraine held a series of meetings with Trump that, according to analysts, were significantly more constructive. This week, Zelensky met with the US president in Washington again, having arrived for the funeral of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, known for his support of Ukraine.
Prior to this, the presidents had communicated at a NATO summit in Ankara. During that meeting, Trump publicly praised Zelensky and mentioned the possibility of granting Ukraine licenses to produce its own interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems. However, the US president later cast doubt on the implementation of this promise.
Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former White House advisor on European affairs, believes that Trump’s attitude towards Zelensky has indeed shifted.
Without a doubt, his attitude towards Zelensky has warmed. We’ve moved from a stage where he was ejecting Zelensky from the Oval Office and turning his back on him, to a situation where there appears to be a perfectly good relationship between them.
– stated Kupchan.
The thawing of relations coincided with the escalation of the war between the US and Israel against Iran. A memorandum on a 60-day ceasefire signed in June effectively expired after hostilities resumed due to the situation around the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had blocked at the beginning of the war.
Tehran also began attacking US military bases and allied infrastructure in the Persian Gulf countries with drones. It is Ukraine’s experience in countering Iranian Shahed drones that could have been one of the key factors in changing Trump’s stance.
Ukraine has been subjected to massive attacks by such drones since 2022, when Iran began supplying drones to Russia. During the full-scale war, Ukrainian military personnel and defense enterprises have gained significant experience in detecting, intercepting, and destroying Shaheds.
In March, Zelensky informed British parliamentarians that Ukraine had dispatched approximately 200 military experts to 11 Persian Gulf countries. Specifically, Ukrainian specialists have been advising the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait on countering Iranian drones.
Trita Parsi, Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, suggested that the offer of practical assistance might have influenced the US President’s perception of Ukraine.
At a moment when Trump is bogged down in a war and dealing with bad military options, the Ukrainians suddenly approach him not with a request for American charity, but with an offer of help. It’s entirely plausible that this could have been one of the reasons for the sharp change in his attitude.
– said Parsi.
Kupchan also emphasized that Zelensky managed to present Ukraine as an ally that not only receives American aid but is also capable of providing the United States with necessary technologies, intelligence, and military expertise.
The arguments for helping Ukraine have now become even more compelling, as Ukraine has demonstrated that it not only receives but also gives.
– noted the expert.
Zelensky also stated that Ukraine is ready to share intelligence with Washington regarding potential Iranian assistance to Russia in preparing attacks on American targets. According to him, since the beginning of July, Ukraine has been observing active Russian satellite reconnaissance of Persian Gulf countries and US military bases located there.
The President of Ukraine claims that the satellite imagery obtained by Russia is subsequently passed on to Iran and could be used to prepare strikes and assess their consequences.
At the same time, analysts warn that Ukraine’s rapprochement with the US and Israel in confronting Iran could lead to the merging of two regional wars into one global conflict.
Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, stated that Tehran increasingly perceives the Russia-Ukraine war and Iran’s conflict with the US as interconnected.
The likely consequence will not be an immediate missile strike on Ukraine, but rather an expansion of the list of places where Tehran will consider it legitimate to inflict damage.
– noted Toossi.
Following Zelensky’s latest meeting with Trump, Ukraine’s acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andriy Sybiga, held a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi.
According to Sybiga, Kyiv is not interested in further escalation, and all of Ukraine’s actions are exclusively aimed at defending the state from Russian aggression.
Despite the improvement in personal relations between the presidents, experts emphasize that supporters of the MAGA movement remain skeptical about US involvement in foreign wars and the allocation of significant funds to Ukraine.
Furthermore, the inconsistency of Trump’s position, particularly regarding the transfer of Patriot technologies to Ukraine, suggests that the current warming of relations does not yet guarantee a stable increase in American military support.
Recall
Previously, we wrote that Ukraine and the US could strengthen their strategic partnership thanks to the experience of modern warfare.