Nobody Expected Ukraine to Show Up in the Iran War… What Happened Next Shocked EVERYONE

0:00:00 - Ukraine Just Became the BIGGEST Winner of the Iran WAR
0:16:18 - Even U.S. Can’t Believe What UK and Ukraine Are About to Do in the Strait of Hormuz
0:31:14 - Ukraine Just UPGRADED U.S. DEFENSE to GOD-TIER MODE… Iran Has No Answer
0:47:18 - Ukraine Just Did Something That Will UNBLOCK the Strait of Hormuz… Iran Can’t Stop It!

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Transcript

00:00:00As the Iran war ceasefire hangs by a thread and both the US and Iran claim themselves to be

00:00:05winning, there is one nation that has truly come out on top. It's neither of the two countries

00:00:10embroiled in Operation Epic Fury and it isn't Israel either. The real winner is embroiled in

00:00:16a war of its own, but it has brilliantly used what is happening in Iran to strengthen itself.

00:00:21The winner is Ukraine. And we're going to tell you all of the reasons why.

00:00:26Ukraine has displayed geopolitical skill beyond measure throughout Operation Epic Fury. From

00:00:31being the first in line to offer help to the US when it became clear that the operation was going

00:00:35to last more than a few days, to turning itself into a key player in Gulf defense, Ukraine has

00:00:41masterfully positioned itself as the most important partner to many of the nations that Russia and even

00:00:46the US have courted in the past. That makes Ukraine the big winner in Iran and so much of what

00:00:52we're

00:00:52seeing now can be traced back to Ukraine's own battlefield and the Russian weakness that is

00:00:56constantly on display in Ukraine. Let's take the last couple of months as an example. In March and

00:01:02April, Russia experienced its worst two months of the Ukraine war since 2024. According to the

00:01:08Institute for the Study of War, Russia made practically no real territorial gains in March.

00:01:13April was even worse. The ISW says that Russia experienced its first net territorial loss since August

00:01:202024, which is the month that Ukraine launched a daring counter-invasion into the Russian region

00:01:25of Kursk that eventually forced Putin to churn through over 63,000 of his soldiers, including

00:01:304,000 troops from North Korea, to overcome.

00:01:33Add to all of this a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the southeast that has resulted in Ukraine

00:01:37clawing back around 10% of the territory that it lost to Russia in 2025, and a Russian casualty

00:01:43rate that is averaging about 35,000 soldiers per month, then you see that Ukraine has far

00:01:48more momentum than Russia would want you to believe. What does any of this have to do with

00:01:52Ukraine winning in Iran? Well, the answer is simple. Important nations in the Gulf are taking

00:01:56notice of what Ukraine is doing, and they are realizing that Ukraine is the answer for many of the problems

00:02:02that they now face. So much of what we see now in Ukraine comes down to the development of an

00:02:06increasingly sophisticated and multi-layered drone-based strategy for which Russia has no

00:02:11answer. Ukraine has gone on the offensive with mid- and long-range strikes that shatter Russian

00:02:16weaponry and destroy key infrastructure inside Russia itself. Russia's oil has been a particular

00:02:22target, as we saw with Ukraine's targeting of Russia's Baltic Sea export hubs, which put about

00:02:2740% of Russia's total oil exports out of commission. But the most important development

00:02:32comes defensively, as Ukraine has spent years building drones that can counter the long-range

00:02:37weapons that Russia has been launching into its territory. Chief among those weapons are Russia's

00:02:43Shahid-type drones, and it's here where the link to Iran comes into play. Russia only has Shahid drone

00:02:50technology because Iran provided it. Iran's regime has been providing Shahids directly to Russia since

00:02:552022, and it has also licensed the technology so that Russia can build its own Shahid variants.

00:03:01These are the weapons that Ukraine has been forced to counter. But more importantly, in the context of

00:03:06Ukraine being the ultimate winner of the war in Iran, Shahids are also the drones that Iran has been

00:03:11using to launch unprompted attacks against other Gulf nations. The Gulf nations need someone who can help

00:03:17bolster their defenses. Ukraine is that someone. Over the last few months, Ukraine's introduction of

00:03:22interceptor drones into its air defense arsenal has seen it become the world's foremost authority

00:03:26on how to deal with Shahids. In March, Ukraine claimed a roughly 90% interception rate of Russian

00:03:32Iran-made drones, much of which was made possible by the development of low-cost interceptor drones

00:03:37that allow Ukraine to forego the use of expensive interceptor missiles to deal with inexpensive Shahids.

00:03:43That's the capability that the Gulf nations want to develop, and they all know that the only way

00:03:48to get a combat-tested version of Ukraine's increasingly layered air defenses is to go to

00:03:52the source. Here's where this gets serious for Russia. Ukraine emerging as such an important

00:03:57player in Gulf defense is wreaking havoc on what we thought we knew about geopolitics before the Iran

00:04:02war began. Stick with us to find out why. First, there are the deals to cover. Ukraine's success

00:04:08against Russia's Shahid-type drones has led it to attracting suitors all over the Middle East,

00:04:12all of whom want to use Ukraine's technology to defend themselves against Iran's use of the same

00:04:17types of drones. That's win number one for Ukraine, and it's leaned into that win brilliantly.

00:04:22Not long after Operation Epic Fury began, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy undertook a tour of

00:04:27the Middle East. The Atlantic Council labeled that tour a masterclass in wartime diplomacy,

00:04:33and it was right on the mark. This single tour showed that Ukraine has growing geopolitical

00:04:38clout. The fact that Gulf nations were even giving Zelenskyy the time of day showed that Ukraine's

00:04:43military profile has risen to the point where even nations that are thousands of miles away

00:04:47have to take notice. But this tour was about more than Zelenskyy getting some face time with the most

00:04:52powerful leaders in the Gulf. Zelenskyy was shopping Ukraine's wares, and several of the

00:04:57nations that have come under attack from Iran were more than happy to buy. Ukraine's president left

00:05:01the Gulf with a trio of new defense deals that would see Ukraine provide drones and its air defense

00:05:06expertise to some major players. Each of those deals lasts for a decade, and they were signed

00:05:11with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Ukraine has wasted no time in making

00:05:18good on its end of these deals. By mid-March, Ukraine had sent over 200 of its military experts

00:05:23to the Gulf to help its new partners set up their new air defense networks. A month later,

00:05:28Zelenskyy revealed that those experts were doing more than merely advising their new allies.

00:05:32They were actively getting involved in the Gulf conflict by using interceptor drones to destroy

00:05:37Shahids that Iran had launched at its neighbors. This is a deadly form of drone diplomacy,

00:05:42and it lies at the heart of why Ukraine has become the major winner in the Iran war.

00:05:47All of this means two things for Ukraine. First, it signals a seismic shift in how Ukraine is viewed

00:05:53on the world stage. For the first few years of the invasion of its territory, Ukraine was viewed by

00:05:57many as a brave country that needed as much assistance as possible from the West to stand

00:06:02a chance of surviving against Russia. Ukraine was a recipient, not a provider, of weapons.

00:06:07It's inaccurate to claim that Ukraine is no longer a recipient, as it will still gladly accept any help

00:06:11it can get. But the country has evolved on the defense front. It's now a legitimate partner to many

00:06:16of the nations that are helping it, and in the case of the Gulf, it has shifted to becoming a

00:06:20supplier.

00:06:21Ukraine is developing into an important arms exporter,

00:06:24and it's all due to the country's ability to produce low-cost drones that are as effective,

00:06:29if not more so, than the expensive alternatives that other nations offer.

00:06:33Second, and perhaps even more importantly, these Gulf deals mean more than Ukraine building a handful

00:06:37of new relationships. Their recognition of the fact that Ukraine has become indispensable in a

00:06:42region where it had no presence, even as recently as a couple of months ago. Before the Iran war,

00:06:47the likes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates weren't looking to Ukraine as a defense

00:06:51partner, why would they? Both nations had plenty of military hardware, and there would be no reason

00:06:56to think that they would face the kind of threat that made partnering with Ukraine a necessity.

00:07:00Operation Epic Fury and the Shahid-Laden response that it prompted from an Iranian regime that is

00:07:04lashing out at everything and everybody changed all of that. What was once sympathy from the Gulf

00:07:09States for Ukraine's plight against Russia has morphed into synergy as those nations realize

00:07:14that they need Ukraine? That's according to Maria Zolkina, who is a conflict researcher.

00:07:19We reached a level of pragmatic interest in 2026 when Ukraine showed its added value,

00:07:24and that fit well with Gulf countries' desire to diversify their security partners,

00:07:28Zolkina tells the new voice of Ukraine, as she notes that Ukraine has become a laboratory of

00:07:33solutions for new tech that can be used to counter the most modern military threats.

00:07:37That's a good point. Ukraine isn't becoming such a major player in Gulf geopolitics through

00:07:42its willingness to help alone. Everything that it's now providing through the new defense deals

00:07:46is battle-tested and proven to work. The Ukraine war has become a testing ground that is far better

00:07:51than any isolated laboratory. Pragmatism rules all. If it doesn't work, it isn't built,

00:07:57and it won't be offered to potential partners. The reason why we covered so much of Ukraine's

00:08:01battlefield success earlier is that these successes show the proof in the pudding.

00:08:05What Ukraine offers to the Gulf works. And this is where we start to see a major shift that Putin

00:08:11never saw coming. Ukraine turning provider in the Gulf is just the turning point. Ukraine is getting

00:08:16plenty in return. It's building partnerships outside of the Gulf, and it's exposing Russia on a

00:08:21global scale to complete a turnaround in geopolitics that places Russia on the back foot. All of these are

00:08:27the reasons why Ukraine is the ultimate winner of the Iran war, and that changes everything.

00:08:32While we're here, this is why we make the military show, to demonstrate how power really moves.

00:08:37If you're new to the channel, hit subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next.

00:08:41Now, the deals that Ukraine has signed in the Gulf have a roundabout effect.

00:08:45Ukraine isn't just sending over drones and experts out of the goodness of its own heart.

00:08:49This is a political power play by Zelensky, and it's already getting results.

00:08:53In return for Ukraine's drones, the Gulf states are compensating Ukraine by providing it with

00:08:58what it needs to continue its fight against Russia. The likes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar have become

00:09:03oil lifelines for Ukraine, following a winter when Russia did everything that it could to batter

00:09:08Ukraine's energy infrastructure into submission. Politico reports that suppliers of oil and diesel

00:09:13will be making their way to Ukraine. In the case of the crude oil promised to Ukraine via its Gulf

00:09:18deals, that oil will head to European refineries, where it will be turned into products that Ukraine's

00:09:23military can use on the front. Speaking about Europe, we're seeing Ukraine create drone partnerships

00:09:27all over the continent. On April 14th, Ukraine and Germany announced the signing of a new deal

00:09:32that involves Germany supplying hundreds of Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine in exchange for

00:09:37Ukraine providing battlefield data that can help Germany prepare its defenses for a potential future

00:09:42fight with Russia. The two nations also announced a joint venture to produce medium and long-range

00:09:47drones, which feeds directly into Ukraine's strategy of destroying the Russian rear to weaken Putin's

00:09:53forces on the front. On the same day, Ukraine and Norway jointly reported the signing of a joint

00:09:58declaration on a defense partnership on the back of talks that Zelensky said involved in-depth discussion

00:10:04about Russia's Shahid-type drones. And on April 16th, Ukraine announced a drone deal with the

00:10:09Netherlands that includes a joint production component. Zelensky even made a stop-off in Turkey as part of his

00:10:14tour of the Middle East, demonstrating that he is more than happy to sniff around a nation that has

00:10:18long held some alignment with Russia, at least on the weapons front. These types of deals are important

00:10:24and not just for the fact that Ukraine is turning provider. What they all show, and this goes for the

00:10:28decade-long Gulf deals even more, is that a lot of major nations now have a vested interest in Ukraine's

00:10:34survival. This is no longer a case of trying to protect Ukraine against Russia's aggression.

00:10:38All of these nations need Ukraine because they realize that Ukraine's survival is the only way that

00:10:44themselves against Russia and Iran. Ukraine is in a great geopolitical spot right now. The nation is

00:10:50now more important in the entire world's eyes than it has been at any point during its history.

00:10:55But here's where it gets really serious. For Russia, Ukraine being the big winner in the Iran

00:11:00conflict signals a complete shift in global geopolitics. That shift started in the years before

00:11:05the Iran war when Russia demonstrated over and over that its military is a paper tiger that can't

00:11:11overrun a much smaller nation that, by all accounts, it should have dominated. But now,

00:11:16and almost solely due to the Iran war, Russia finds itself deteriorating as a global influence

00:11:21in tandem with Ukraine's rise. In a piece for the Telegraph, the outlet's executive defense and

00:11:26foreign affairs editor, Conn Coughlin, explains how the situation looked just a couple of short months

00:11:30ago. Prior to the Iran conflict, many Gulf states were seeking to strengthen ties with Beijing

00:11:35and Moscow because of their concerns about the reliability of the US and its Western allies

00:11:40to defend their interests in a crisis, Coughlin points out. That was obviously great for Russia.

00:11:45If it could supplant the US as a supplier to the Gulf nations, then Putin's geopolitical influence

00:11:49would skyrocket. Then Operation Epic Fury started, and with it came Iran's response.

00:11:55Al Jazeera reports that the Arab nations that Iran targeted with its fire drones at everybody strategy

00:12:00cost those nations up to $194 billion during the first month of the war in Iran.

00:12:05For Russia, Iran's response was disastrous. For over four years, Putin has been cozying up to

00:12:11Iran's regime, leading to the signing of a strategic partnership toward the end of 2025.

00:12:16Iran has been providing Shahid drones to Russia. There were rumors near the beginning of Operation Epic

00:12:21Fury that Russia was helping Iran by providing intelligence. All of this led the Gulf nations that

00:12:25were starting to veer toward Russia as a weapons supplier to ask the obvious question,

00:12:30How can we trust Russia when it supports the nation that is attacking us?

00:12:34Russia's support of Iran may be the gravest geopolitical mistake that Putin has ever made,

00:12:39and he's made plenty of them. All that Russia achieved with this support was playing right

00:12:43into Ukraine's hands. Now, Russia looks like the most unconvincing ally or weapons provider that

00:12:48any nation could have. The results on the battlefield show that, even if we hadn't seen Ukraine's

00:12:53impressive push over the last few months, the fact that Russia has burned through over 1.3 million

00:12:58of its soldiers and tens of thousands of units of the very equipment that it's looking to sell would

00:13:02have led to potential partners being wary. But now, Putin's desperation to form alliances with

00:13:07anybody that would have him has come back to bite him in the rear that is already pockmarked by

00:13:11relentless Ukrainian deep strikes. Putin misplaced his political backing, and that may well deliver

00:13:17yet another win to Ukraine in the future. But before we get to that, we're seeing the geopolitical

00:13:22turnaround in more ways than the Gulf nations turning their backs on Russian weapons in favor of what

00:13:27Ukraine has to offer. In fact, those nations are just a symptom of a much wider problem that Russia

00:13:31has. In a March 9th report, the Moscow Times reveals that Russian arms exports have dropped

00:13:36by 64% over the past five years. Russia might try to explain this away by saying that it needs

00:13:42as many

00:13:42weapons as possible for the Ukraine war, but even that is a sign of weakness. Russia built its

00:13:48geopolitical influence on the back of being able to provide weapons that its partners could use to

00:13:52defend themselves. Even if the downturn in sales is due to what's happening in Ukraine, that only

00:13:57proves that Russian weapons are ineffective against the combination of Western and homegrown

00:14:01equipment that Ukraine is fielding. And to rub a little salt into Putin's wounds, Ukraine's rise as

00:14:06weapons supplier is accompanied by the European Union's members combining to sell four times as

00:14:11many weapons as Russia during the five years in question. Are we seeing the rise of one geopolitical

00:14:16power as another collapses in real time, perhaps in the long term? But in the more immediate sense,

00:14:22there is one more win that Ukraine gets from the Iran situation. The deals that Ukraine is striking,

00:14:27both in the Gulf and in Europe, strip leverage away from Putin. Russia can no longer use Ukraine's

00:14:32energy situation as a lever, especially if Gulf nations are helping Ukraine in that department.

00:14:37Ukraine's targeting of Russia's oil export infrastructure also means that Putin is struggling

00:14:41to use Russia's own energy production to buy allies. Those attacks also feed into the collapse of a

00:14:47Russian economy that is now entirely centered around a war that Russia isn't winning.

00:14:52All of these failures, both domestic and geopolitical, are a problem for Putin during peace negotiations

00:14:58with Ukraine. Putin will continue to trot out his old and tired narrative, Ukraine is on the verge of

00:15:03defeat and should give up now before it gets worse. But Ukraine now has responses in abundance.

00:15:08If Ukraine is weak, why is the Gulf leaning on Ukraine for its defense? Why is Europe doing the

00:15:13same? Why is Russia's oil burning? Why is Russia losing ground on the battlefield? And why would

00:15:19anybody believe the stories that Putin tells when it is clear that more nations than ever before

00:15:23have a vested interest in Ukraine coming out on top? As his mouthpieces sweat at the negotiating table,

00:15:30they will find that none of these are questions that they can answer. The war in Iran has exposed

00:15:34everything. Russia as a geopolitical force is weaker than it has ever been, as it proves that it can

00:15:40do nothing to protect an ally that it unwisely invested in, believing it to be a major Middle East

00:15:45power player. The war has also exposed Ukraine's geopolitical brilliance. Every move that Ukraine

00:15:50has made since Operation Epic Fury began has been designed to make Ukraine a vital partner to nations

00:15:55in the Gulf and beyond. Ukraine has basically laid down an UNO reverse card. Russia has nothing left in the

00:16:02deck, which means all it can do is watch as Ukraine becomes the unlikely victor of a war happening

00:16:06thousands of miles away from its territory. All of this will get so much worse for Russia if Ukraine

00:16:12can build on what it has achieved so far to do something that not even the US has managed to

00:16:16do,

00:16:16reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz is a problem, not just for the world but very

00:16:23specifically for Ukraine. Russia is trying to benefit from an oil windfall caused by rising prices and

00:16:29Ukraine is about to do something about it. And it gets worse for Putin, Ukraine is bringing

00:16:34the UK along for the ride. Even the US can't believe what the UK and Ukraine are doing,

00:16:39as what was meant to unblock Ukraine is now going to unblock the Strait of Hormuz.

00:16:44The mine hunters are being readied. Four of them in fact, all of which Ukraine says that it is ready

00:16:49to deploy whenever they are needed to unblock the Strait of Hormuz and return some semblance of

00:16:53normality to a global energy industry that has been shaken by the conflict in Iran.

00:16:58The news came ahead of Ukrainian naval officers attending a multinational military planning

00:17:03summit on April 22, which involved more than 30 nations. Ukraine made it very clear that it is

00:17:10ready to help in whatever way it can. Speaking to the Times, an unnamed Ukrainian

00:17:14source laid it all out. The source said,

00:17:16We are ready to offer everything. There are four mine hunters, all in Portsmouth. They can't go to

00:17:21Ukraine because first of all, they would be target number one, and secondly, because of the Montreux

00:17:25Convention, the source told the outlet. That gives you a little clue about what the UK has to do with

00:17:30all of this. As for the Montreux Convention, that gives Turkey the authority to restrict or prohibit

00:17:36passage of military vessels from any nation into the Black Sea. Turkey controls the two straits that

00:17:42lead into this crucial sea, which has been the naval battleground in the Ukraine war. Ukraine can't

00:17:47send its mine hunters into the Black Sea, so it is ready to send them to the Strait of Hormuz

00:17:52ships instead. And here is where it gets serious. The ships that Ukraine is planning to send to the

00:17:56Gulf are all purpose-built to deal with one of the key problems that Iran is trying to create in

00:18:00that

00:18:00waterway, and at least one of them has experience operating under the very conditions under which

00:18:05it will need to operate if it does get sent on Ukraine's Gulf-saving mission. Right now, Ukraine

00:18:11has four minehunting ships that it isn't able to send into the Black Sea. Two of them are Royal Navy

00:18:15Sanddown-class mine hunters that were donated to Ukraine by the UK back in 2023 to strengthen

00:18:21Ukraine's ability to operate at sea. The HMS Shoreham and the HMS Grimsby are going to play

00:18:27a crucial role in Ukraine's coastal defenses once its war with Russia is over. But right now,

00:18:32they are sitting in a port doing not a whole lot of anything. Ukraine says it is willing to change

00:18:36that as it builds on its efforts to unblock Hormuz and turn itself into a major player in the Gulf.

00:18:41The other two ships that Ukraine has ready to go are the UNS Melitopol and UNS Mariupol,

00:18:47which were handed to Ukraine by the Dutch and Belgian navies. Like the two former Royal Navy

00:18:52ships, those two vessels are waiting in port for any opportunity to see any kind of action in the

00:18:56Strait of Hormuz. The HMS Shoreham, in particular, will be a very welcome addition to the solution for

00:19:01the Strait of Hormuz problem. It has been to the Middle East before. Back in 2018, the Minehunter

00:19:06began what ended up being a three-year deployment to the Middle East, where it was tasked with securing

00:19:11shipping lanes for merchant ships. The HMS Shoreham handles mines that have been placed in deep waters

00:19:16because it has a special sonar that can be detached from the hull and lowered deep into the sea.

00:19:20The HMS Grimsy comes from the same class of Minehunters, so we can assume it has this capability too.

00:19:26And it's here where we see the UK's role in all of this start to emerge. We have the obvious

00:19:30one,

00:19:30of course. Two of the ships that Ukraine is planning to send into the Gulf come from the Royal Navy.

00:19:35But it runs a lot deeper than that. Both of those ships, along with Ukraine's other Minehunters,

00:19:39are currently docked in UK ports. In the cases of the UNS Melitopol and Mariupol, those vessels are

00:19:45actively crewed by Ukrainian sailors and training with the Royal Navy as they await their deployment

00:19:50to the Strait of Hormuz. There is coordination happening here. The UK didn't just give its ships

00:19:55to Ukraine. It's making sure that Ukraine can use them. So when Ukraine is ready to send four

00:20:00Minehunters into the Strait of Hormuz, it isn't making empty promises. It knows those ships and their

00:20:05crews are ready. The UK has made sure of them. Adding to the UK's involvement,

00:20:10the deployment of Ukraine's four Minehunters would most likely come as part of a joint UK

00:20:14and French effort to unblock the Strait of Hormuz. That's what the April 22 meeting was all about.

00:20:20Leaders from over 30 nations met to discuss what military assets they could dedicate to the Gulf

00:20:24to ensure the Strait of Hormuz is reopened. Whatever mission is arranged will be strictly peaceful and

00:20:30offensive, UK Prime Minister Sakhir Starmer has declared. Out of the 30, Ukraine was the first

00:20:35to declare its intentions even before the meeting took place. Ukraine wants to be a key player in

00:20:40solving the Gulf crisis. But for Putin and Russia, the real problem is that Ukraine is playing the long

00:20:45game. Clearing the Strait of Hormuz damages Russia's war effort. Stick with us to find out why.

00:20:51First, there is a caveat to all of this. The Ukrainian ships, along with the joint UK and France-led

00:20:56mission, will only head toward Iran when Operation Epic Fury ends.

00:21:00Note that the UK nor France wants to send ships into the Strait of Hormuz while there is a likelihood

00:21:04of the Iran war continuing. The risk is too great for the ship's crews as they would end up engulfed

00:21:09in a war zone stemming from a conflict between the US, Israel and Iran. Plus, it seems that all nations

00:21:14involved want to tread carefully around any potential interpretation of their actions that could lead

00:21:19other countries to claim they are supporting the US directly in its war. So the Minehunters don't sail

00:21:25until the conflict in Iran is over. As for when that will be, let's just say, it's all to be

00:21:30determined. The initial truce between the US and Iran was set to expire at around the same time as

00:21:35Ukraine met with the 30-plus nations that are ready to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. That appears to

00:21:40have changed now. On April 21st, Reuters reported that the US had announced that the truce was being

00:21:45extended indefinitely to allow the US and Iran more time to negotiate a potential peace settlement that

00:21:51could bring an end to Operation Epic Theory. The problem now is that peace talks don't really

00:21:56seem to be going anywhere. On April 25th, PBS reported that the latest round of talks between

00:22:01the US and Iran appeared to have failed. Iran's top diplomat has already left Pakistan, which is

00:22:06where talks were being held, and US President Donald Trump has also claimed that he has told the US

00:22:11envoys not to travel to Islamabad. Trump has claimed that sending envoys into other countries is a waste of

00:22:17time when all Iran have to do is call. Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Aragchi, has also suggested

00:22:23that the talks aren't going particularly well. Shared Iran's position concerning workable framework

00:22:28to permanently end the war on Iran. Have yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy,

00:22:33Aragchi said on social media. Right now, it's looking more likely that bombs will start dropping

00:22:38again than that the US and Iran will reach any sort of agreement. So for now, Ukraine's mine hunters

00:22:43will have to wait, along with the joint mission to the Strait of Hormuz. However, as we have seen

00:22:47many times already, the Iran conflict can turn on a dime, as we never quite know what is happening

00:22:53behind the scenes. And if that turn comes, and Ukraine's ships head to the Gulf, they will have

00:22:58plenty of problems to clean up and will deliver a major gutshot to Putin in the process. That changes

00:23:03everything, and it makes Ukraine's mine hunters invaluable to the country's war effort against Russia.

00:23:08But before we dig into that, you are watching The Military Show.

00:23:12If you haven't subscribed to the channel yet, now is the perfect time to hit that button.

00:23:17We'll start with Iran's mines. Even if the US and Iran reach some sort of agreement that leads

00:23:22to both pulling down their respective blockades in the Strait of Hormuz, the mines that Iran is

00:23:26believed to have already laid in the waterway will be an issue. How many merchant ships are going to be

00:23:31willing to sail if they don't know whether those mines are being cleared? Compounding the problem is

00:23:35that Iran itself appears to have rather conveniently forgotten where it has placed its mines.

00:23:39That's according to an April 10th report by the New York Times, which says that Iran's forgetfulness

00:23:45was the reason the country's regime gave for not complying with the US order to clear the Strait of

00:23:49Hormuz for a ceasefire to hold. How true Iran's claims are is a matter for debate. But what doesn't

00:23:55seem debatable is that Iran has been leaning back into its mine-laying strategy as peace discussions

00:24:00crumble. In an April 23rd report, Axios claimed that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,

00:24:05or IRGC, had started laying mines once again, which is the sort of escalation that will only anger the

00:24:12US. Indeed, the IRGC's actions already seem to have prompted a response from the Trump administration.

00:24:18NBC reports that Trump has ordered the US military to shoot and kill any Iranian boats that are

00:24:23discovered to be laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz or the surrounding waterways. It looks like

00:24:28Ukraine's mine hunters will have their work cut out for them when they arrive in the Gulf. When those vessels

00:24:33do arrive, they will likely have to deal with two types of naval mines that Iran is capable of laying.

00:24:37We know that Iran has left a path through the Strait of Hormuz that is allowing merchant ships that

00:24:42paid a toll to use. Iran also has its own ships that it wants to get out of the waterway

00:24:47so that

00:24:47it can sell the oil it produces to its customers. As for the rest of the strait, it has likely

00:24:51been

00:24:51laced with Maham III and Maham VII mines. Neither of these is like the types of naval mines that you

00:24:57might expect Iran to be using. Rather than requiring a ship to make direct contact before they explode,

00:25:03both use a combination of acoustic and magnetic sensors to detect when a ship has come within

00:25:08range. If those sensors trigger, the mine detonates automatically. In the case of the Maham III,

00:25:14that means a 300 kilogram or 661 pound warhead that can be submerged up to 100 meters or 328 feet

00:25:21below the waves will tear through a ship's hull. The Maham VII is a little less powerful at 220 kilograms

00:25:28or

00:25:29485 pounds. It is also designed for use in shallower waters, and it has a conical shape that is supposed

00:25:34to make it resistant to sonar. Both are dangerous. And despite the attrition caused to Iran's navy,

00:25:40The Guardian reports that Iran still has between 80% and 90% of its small boats and mine-laying

00:25:46vessels

00:25:46that it can use to lace the Strait of Hormuz. So, it is clear that Ukraine sending its mine hunters

00:25:51into the Gulf will prove invaluable for commercial shipping. They are needed, along with the rest of

00:25:56the joint mission of which they will be a part. Plus, the detachable sonars in the ships Ukraine

00:26:00received from the Royal Navy could end up proving essential for dealing with the Maham III mines

00:26:04that are lying somewhere below the surface for Strait of Hormuz. Simply sending its ships will be

00:26:09massive for Ukraine and its global reputation, as you will soon discover. But right now, there is one man

00:26:14who is furious about this news. He is a man who has watched the situation in the Gulf with glee,

00:26:19because it has led to oil prices rocketing up and more demand for his country's oil

00:26:23than there has been for a long time. That man is Putin. And he is livid about Ukraine's plans.

00:26:29The war in Iran couldn't have come at a better time for Russia, as four years of war with Ukraine

00:26:34have left the country's war chest on the brink of running out. The war has been an

00:26:38economic gift for Putin, Chatham House declared in an April 10th piece, as it notes that the blockade

00:26:43in the Strait of Hormuz has reversed the good work being done by sanctions that have lowered the

00:26:48Group 7 price cap on Russian oil to $46 per barrel. That cap, combined with what seemed to be a

00:26:54more

00:26:54stringent response to Russia's Shadow Fleet tankers, was taking effect during the first couple of months

00:26:58of 2026. In February alone, Russia lost out on about $1.5 billion of oil revenue compared to the

00:27:04previous year, and oil export volumes were also down to 6.6 million barrels per day. Then,

00:27:10Operation Epic Fury started. Iran's resulting blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has led to the

00:27:15price of a barrel of oil skyrocketing, the point where the Financial Times estimated that Russia

00:27:20was making an extra $150 million per day from its oil sales in early March. The war-saving windfall

00:27:26that Putin was desperately hoping for had arrived, and Russia has been trying to milk it for all it is

00:27:31worth. Ukraine has been making that hard. Constant attacks against Russia's oil export hubs have cut

00:27:36deep into the profits that Russia has been generating. Still, the maths on this one is

00:27:40pretty simple. The longer the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the better it is for Russia's oil sales.

00:27:46Now, Putin has to deal with Ukraine taking an active role in the Strait of Hormuz.

00:27:50Even if the blockades ended today, Russia's president would still be hopeful of squeezing

00:27:54plenty more out of the energy crisis due to the mines that Iran has laid. Iran certainly isn't going

00:28:00to help clear those mines. With Ukraine joining the effort to do so, the Strait of Hormuz will be made

00:28:04safe just a little bit faster than it might have otherwise been. The price of a barrel of oil will

00:28:09drop. It won't be long after that that Russia will find itself right back where it was at the beginning

00:28:14of 2026. Putin will also be frothing at the mouth about the symbolic message that Ukraine's move sends

00:28:19to Russia. Ukraine hasn't been able to use its mine hunters in the Black Sea. Turkey has made sure

00:28:24of that. However, Turkey's blanket ban on warships passing through the straits that it controls

00:28:28has also meant that Russia isn't able to replenish its ailing Black Sea fleet. That fleet has lost about a

00:28:34third of its ships and has been forced to withdraw from its Crimean headquarters, all because Ukraine

00:28:38found ways to wreck it without needing traditional ships. Missiles, drones, and unmanned surface vessels

00:28:44have made Russia's fleet a near-none factor in the Black Sea. By sending its mine hunters to Iran,

00:28:49Ukraine is telling Putin that it doesn't need them in one body of water that impacts the Ukraine war

00:28:54more than any other. Turkey's decision doesn't matter. Ukraine can hurt Russia's war effort by sending

00:28:58its mine hunters thousands of miles away, leveraging a capability that Putin never expected Ukraine to

00:29:04have when he launched his invasion. It doesn't even need ships in the Black Sea to make Putin's fleet

00:29:09useless. Ukraine has naval power that it can deploy all over the globe. That brings us nicely to what

00:29:14Ukraine's move means for Ukraine itself. Ukraine doing all of this alongside a collective of European

00:29:20nations can't go ignored. This is Ukraine conducting a transition from aid recipient to power player that

00:29:26can work alongside its allies to have a true impact on the global stage. Russia ended up creating a military

00:29:32monster with a special military operation that was supposed to last a few days. And Ukraine is using

00:29:38that fact to build deeper ties with its European allies than ever before. And although it's unclear

00:29:43exactly how the mission that Europe's nations are planning will work alongside the US forces in the

00:29:47Gulf, especially after Trump branded NATO a paper tiger and told the organization to stay away from

00:29:52the strait, Ukraine's willingness to send ships will likely play well in the US. Trump's messaging has been

00:29:58mixed when it comes to the strait of Hormuz. Sometimes he says that the US doesn't need or want help.

00:30:03Other times, as we saw earlier in April, Trump is laying down deadlines for Europe to get involved.

00:30:08As of April 24th, Trump was claiming that the US had total control over the strait of Hormuz,

00:30:13even as Iran said that it had seized two container ships. It's clear that there is still chaos in the

00:30:18vital Gulf waterway. Ukraine sending its mine hunters into the mix along with European ships,

00:30:23and perhaps a US peacekeeping effort would lead to that chaos subsiding. And that's what it's all

00:30:28about for Ukraine. If the strait of Hormuz reopens fully, Russia is hurt because the oil prices go

00:30:34down. It's all part of the attritional strategy that Ukraine has been waging against Putin's forces

00:30:38for years, only it's being done on a scale that nobody could have ever anticipated. Putin thought that

00:30:44he would be able to keep the Ukraine war contained to a regional affair. Ukraine is making the war global

00:30:49by tackling problems thousands of miles away from its own territory, all to hurt Russia and strengthens

00:30:54the sort of alliances that make Putin's plans for Europe worthless. And then there's Ukraine's

00:30:59newfound position in the Gulf. Decade-long defense deals have been signed between Ukraine and several

00:31:04Gulf nations. Ukraine's commitment of mine hunters to the Gulf region will only deepen the cooperation

00:31:09between the country and its new partners, as well as damage Russia's influence in the Middle East.

00:31:14Iran thought it had a good strategy. As US bombs dropped and blockades were put in place,

00:31:20Iran would launch drones and missiles at a key American base in Saudi Arabia to whittle away at

00:31:26its defenses. The Pentagon just found a solution to that problem. It has secretly deployed an

00:31:31impenetrable shield that makes Iran's drones powerless. And best of all, that shield comes courtesy

00:31:38of Ukraine. Iran has no answer for this, as Ukraine just upgraded US air defense to God-tier mode.

00:31:45On April 22nd, Reuters broke the news that five separate though unnamed sources had confirmed that

00:31:51the Pentagon has unleashed an air defense system of Ukrainian design at the Prince Sultan Air Base in

00:31:56Saudi Arabia. The decision was made in the aftermath of Iranian attacks that destroyed buildings and

00:32:01aircraft, in addition to resulting in one casualty on the US side. The new system is known as SkyMap,

00:32:07and it's something that Ukraine has been using to coordinate its air defense against the very

00:32:11Shahid-type drones that Iran is now using to hurt American bases. This system is incredibly innovative,

00:32:17a command and control platform that will allow the Pentagon to coordinate its anti-drone defenses all

00:32:22over its base. We'll be coming back to what the system does later, but the real problem that Iran now

00:32:27faces is that a strategy that it believed to be foolproof has just blown up in its face.

00:32:32The Iranian regime thought it had it all figured out. Cheap drones sent by the dozens would create

00:32:37plenty of problems for the US in the bases that it has developed all over the Middle East. Those

00:32:42problems were twofold. There's the direct damage, of course. A Shahid that strikes its target brings with

00:32:47it an explosive warhead that can rip away assets that the US is relying upon to conduct Operation Epic Fury.

00:32:53However, there's also the cost involved in defending against Iran's drone attacks to

00:32:57consider. Shahids are cheap. TRT World says they cost around $35,000 per unit for Iran to build,

00:33:03and some sources say they can be made even cheaper than that. The types of interceptor missiles that

00:33:08the US has been using to counter them aren't, as they can easily cost upwards of $1 million each.

00:33:13Even if Iran doesn't score direct hits with its Shahids, it can drain the Pentagon of war funds

00:33:18just by sending them to US bases. The Prince Sultan Air Base has been a consistent target since

00:33:23Operation Epic Fury was launched. In fact, Euromiden Press reports that the repeated attacks

00:33:28against this particular base are what triggered the Pentagon to accelerate its adoption of Ukraine's

00:33:33tech in the first place. Iran's attacks against Prince Sultan have done far more damage than the

00:33:38US would have liked to see. On March 27, Iran unleashed a missile and drone attack against the base

00:33:43that resulted in a US Air Force E3 Sentry airborne warning and control system airframe being damaged,

00:33:50alongside several other aerial platforms, such as aerial refueling tankers. The March attack also

00:33:55injured at least 10 US servicemen, two of whom suffered serious wounds. This was a clever move

00:34:01by Iran. E3 Sentry aircraft used by the US for battlefield management, intelligence gathering,

00:34:06and surveillance of the types of targets that the US has been hitting during Operation Epic Fury.

00:34:10Take out the sentries and the US loses eyes in the sky.

00:34:15Iran's March 27 strike against the Prince Sultan base came on the back of an earlier attack on

00:34:19March 13 that saw Iran hit a quintet of US Air Force refueling planes. Again, this was an

00:34:25intelligent move. The US needs its aerial tankers in the sky to keep its fighter jets and bombers

00:34:29airborne and firing for as long as possible. It's no coincidence that these types of airframes

00:34:34were targeted in Iran's second attack on Prince Sultan. The March 13 strike also showed Iran that the base

00:34:40didn't have the level of air defenses that it needed to defend itself against the combined

00:34:44barrages of missiles and drones that Iran had been unleashing. At least, that used to be the case.

00:34:49It's not anymore. The US didn't take long to identify that some had vulnerabilities at its Saudi

00:34:55base. If it hadn't known before, it did when Iran's missiles and drones crashed down on airframes

00:35:00that cost tens of millions of dollars to build. Patching up the holes quickly became a priority,

00:35:04and the US Department of Defense took action. On April 6, the Department of Defense announced that

00:35:09Joint Interagency Task Force 401 had committed more than $600 million to a program designed to

00:35:15strengthen America's ability to counter the many threats posed by unmanned aerial vehicles.

00:35:20Of that $600 million, $350 million had already been committed during the first month of Operation Epic

00:35:26Fury, which is right around the time that Iran's attacks were tearing through the Prince Sultan base.

00:35:30The rest of the money is going toward domestic drone defenses. But the question has to be asked,

00:35:36did the US spend some of the $350 million it is dedicated to Operation Epic Fury to bring Ukraine

00:35:41into the fold? If it did, neither the US nor Ukraine is letting on. The development of SkyMap is still

00:35:47meant to be a secret, which is why Reuters hasn't been able to secure any official confirmation beyond

00:35:52the word of five unnamed sources that it says are close to the Pentagon.

00:35:56We can assume that part of the $350 million the Department of Defense spent has gone toward Ukraine.

00:36:02What we know for certain is that SkyMap will go a huge way towards solving a maths problem

00:36:06on top of helping the US to defend its Saudi base against Iranian drones. And the maths is very simple

00:36:12on this one. Using multi-million dollar-plus interceptor missiles to take out Shahid drones

00:36:17that cost around $35,000 and can cost as little as $20,000 doesn't add up.

00:36:23A million-dollar answer to a $20,000 question doesn't stack up as Fortune puts it and it's easy to

00:36:28see

00:36:28why. Let's say Iran launches a dozen drones at Prince Sultan. Cost to Iran, assuming a $35,000

00:36:34outlay for each Shahid, $420,000. Cost to the US at $1 million per interceptor, $12 million.

00:36:42This is attrition by bleeding a military bank account dry. And the great irony is that the nation

00:36:48that the US has drafted in to help it in Prince Sultan is a country that has been using these

00:36:52same types of mathematics against Russia. Ukraine's battlefield experience combines with its ability

00:36:57to churn out new technologies at a record pace, which has allowed it to develop cost-effective

00:37:01systems to counter Russian attacks. Putin is using Shahid drones too. He got them from Iran,

00:37:07and Russia is now building clones of these drones internally. Ukraine has worked on creating all sorts

00:37:12of responses to these drones, and has come up with interceptor drones that cost as little as $1,000

00:37:17per unit. Suddenly, the Shahids aren't looking like such a great investment. Ukraine has also made an

00:37:22entire war defense out of its ability to use cheap, medium- and long-range drones to target Russian

00:37:27assets, from air defense systems up to oil refineries, in attacks that cause millions of dollars

00:37:32of damage in return for investments of a few hundred thousand dollars. Iran is just following the

00:37:36asymmetric blueprint that Ukraine has used for four years. Who better than Ukraine to help the US

00:37:42counter that blueprint? That seems to be the conclusion that the Pentagon has reached at the

00:37:46Prince Sultan air base, which has led to the deployment of SkyMap. But what exactly is SkyMap?

00:37:52And what does its deployment mean not only for the US in Operation Epic Fury, but also for Ukraine?

00:37:57Before we answer both of these questions, you are watching The Military Show. We bring you the full

00:38:02picture, not just the headlines. If you want to see more of this type of insight,

00:38:05make sure you are subscribed to the channel. SkyMap isn't a new type of drone or some other basic

00:38:11weapon that Ukraine is providing to the US. It is much bigger than that. For several years,

00:38:16SkyMap has been the command and control platform that Ukraine's military has used to counter Russia's

00:38:20aerial threat. The company behind the platform, Sky Fortress, was formed in 2022 by Ukrainian

00:38:26engineers who had links to the country's military, which means they were perfectly placed to develop a

00:38:31system that served the very specific needs that Ukraine had. No anticipation of what that system

00:38:36would have to do was needed. Ukraine had a problem with Russian drones and missiles. SkyMap was

00:38:41tailored to solve that problem. Today, SkyMap is a massive system that operates Ukraine-wide.

00:38:47It pulls inputs from acoustic sensors, radars, and even live video feeds shot by Ukraine's own drones

00:38:53into a single integrated digital interface that allows the user to develop a real-time picture of the

00:38:58aerial battlefield. The sheer volume of data that SkyMap receives is key to enabling Ukraine to

00:39:04rapidly react to any airstrike that Russia attempts. Not only that, but SkyMap also identifies the

00:39:09incoming projectiles. That's key for resource management. Ukraine doesn't want to waste air

00:39:14defense missiles on Shahid drones when those expensive drones are better used against Russia's

00:39:18ballistic missile threat. It also doesn't want to be sending out cheap intercept drones to tackle an

00:39:23incoming missile. With SkyMap, Ukraine can identify the incoming threat and quickly choose how to

00:39:28manage that threat. Think of SkyMap as a central node through which air defenses of entire bases

00:39:33and cities can operate. What started as a network of around 10,000 acoustic sensors placed all over

00:39:38Ukraine has evolved into a much broader system due, in part, to support from Ukraine's Brave One

00:39:44innovation platform. For the US, this kind of platform is invaluable. Not that America didn't

00:39:49have its own command and control system set up at Prince Sultan. As Reuters points out, the US

00:39:54already had the Forward Area Air Defense platform in place. Developed by Northrop Grumman in the 1990s,

00:40:01that platform tracks incoming threats too. However, its age might give us a clue as to why the Pentagon

00:40:06sought an upgrade. Though a FAD system can detect drones, it was designed during an era when mortars

00:40:12and rockets were the biggest threat that the US bases would face. That's simply not the case anymore.

00:40:17The Shahid drones are a much larger problem, and the US needed a system that was tailor-made to help

00:40:21it

00:40:21counter these specific types of drones. That's SkyMap in a nutshell. And Ukraine is doing much

00:40:26more than sending its command and control system to Prince Sultan Air Base. According to First Post,

00:40:31Ukraine has sent a team of experts to the base, which is roughly 640 kilometers or about 400 miles

00:40:36away from Iran. That team has the clear mission of helping the US counteract a drone issue that has

00:40:42cost America $1.3 billion in material damages, on top of the millions of dollars spent on interceptor

00:40:47missiles to defend against Iran's aerial attacks. Ukraine's experts are reportedly working with US

00:40:53personnel as we speak, helping them with the operation and integration of the SkyMap system.

00:40:57Don't underestimate how important this little detail is for Ukraine.

00:41:01What we're seeing here is a transfer of knowledge from one nation to another,

00:41:04that can be used to build a foundation of cooperation that will benefit Ukraine for years to come.

00:41:09This is no one-way relationship. This is where things are starting to shift for Ukraine,

00:41:13as it's morphing from a nation that once relied on the US and others to keep it going,

00:41:17into a country that can hold its own and even help its allies with their defense.

00:41:22Before we dig deeper into that point, First Post reveals that Ukraine has already set up a

00:41:26training program for US personnel at Prince Sultan Air Base. Through that program, American personnel

00:41:31not only learn how SkyMap works, but also benefit from over four years of Ukrainian experience in

00:41:37dealing with the very types of threats that Iran is unleashing. Ukraine is delivering a

00:41:41battlefield-tested and extremely well-honed anti-drone system. The US didn't have anything

00:41:47like that before. Now it does, and this is likely a system that can be integrated into other technologies

00:41:52that the US has deployed at Prince Sultan. You may remember that we mentioned cheap

00:41:56interceptor drones as one of Ukraine's most important solutions to the Shahid problem.

00:42:00That might lead you to assume that Ukraine's experts have headed over to Prince Sultan with these

00:42:04types of drones in tow. That may well be the case. We know that Saudi Arabia is one of the

00:42:09Gulf states

00:42:09with which Ukraine has signed a decade-long defense deal that includes drone technology.

00:42:14However, nothing of this sort has been confirmed by the US. Plus, Prince Sultan is a US base on Saudi

00:42:20territory, so it may not be included as part of the deal between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.

00:42:24However, the US may believe that it doesn't need Ukraine's interceptor drones.

00:42:28Back in September 2025, the news broke that the US had invested over $5 billion in purchasing

00:42:34Coyote interceptor drones from Raytheon. The contract for these drones, which is scheduled

00:42:39to run until September 28, 2033, will result in the US getting thousands of its own interceptors.

00:42:45Right now, United24 Media says that America produces about 100 of its interceptor drones per month,

00:42:50so we can assume that production capacity will be expanded to hit 40,000 or so units that will

00:42:55come as part of this deal. A single Coyote drone costs the US an estimated $125,000.

00:43:03So these aren't perfect drones for dealing with Iran's Shahid threat, at least on a cost basis,

00:43:08but they are capable of dealing with both aerial and marine drones, so it seems likely that the US

00:43:12will be integrating its Coyotes, which are among several other air defense assets that America is

00:43:17testing right now with SkyMap. But those are future hurdles for the US to overcome. Right now,

00:43:23it's working with a Ukrainian-made command and control system that it knows will work,

00:43:27because Ukraine has been using it against the very type of threat that Iran poses to bases,

00:43:31like Prince Sultan. The impenetrable shield is being raised, and that is important for far more

00:43:36reasons than the US simply getting its hands on a system that helps it to defend its bases against

00:43:41Iranian drones. For Ukraine, the implementation of SkyMap as a US base is a huge move that proves

00:43:47the country offers plenty of value to the US defense sector. What Ukraine has done here is step up to

00:43:53fill a gap in the US air defense structure, and it's doing it using a technology that the US hasn't

00:43:58developed itself. Do you remember the hundreds of millions of dollars that the Department of Defense

00:44:02is investing in its anti-drone programs? Ukraine would love to get itself a slice of that pie,

00:44:07along with any other investments that the US makes into drone technology. Assets like SkyMap could

00:44:12provide a route for Ukraine to take to get its hands on cash or weapons that it can use in

00:44:16its defense of

00:44:17its territory against Russia. Hey, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours, the situation is

00:44:21developing here. SkyMap is at the heart of it. Beyond the monetary benefits this deal could offer

00:44:26to Ukraine, there's the strategic aspect to consider. It's fair to say that the relationship

00:44:30between the US and Ukraine has been rocky over the last year or so. Clashes with the Trump administration

00:44:36have often left Ukraine on the edge when it comes to just how much it can rely on the US

00:44:40for support

00:44:41in Ukraine's fight against Russia. Keeping the US on board is as much about Ukraine proving that it

00:44:46can be useful to America whenever the time comes that the US needs support, as it is about the US

00:44:51simply stepping up to support Ukraine. Again, backs need to be scratched, and that's what we're starting

00:44:56to see in the Gulf. This is Ukraine's drone diplomacy at work. And it's strengthening the relationship

00:45:02between Ukraine and the US at the perfect time for Ukraine. FDD Action points out that Ukraine has been

00:45:07one of the very few US allies that have jumped at the opportunity to step up and help America

00:45:12practically from the moment that Operation Epic Fury was launched. Interceptor drones, experts,

00:45:17and now SkyMap have all been sent over quickly, and that has led to Ukraine proving itself to be one

00:45:22of

00:45:22the most valuable and reliable allies that the US has. Congress should take note of this, FDD Action argues.

00:45:30Ukraine is offering this insane level of support, even though it has been drained by over four years

00:45:34of war with Russia. Is there a strategy for doing this? Of course. Ukraine knows that stepping up

00:45:39when the US needs help is good for its relationship with America. But Ukraine knowing exactly what it's

00:45:45doing when it provides technologies like SkyMap doesn't discount the fact that it's proving itself

00:45:49to be a model ally to the US. We're also starting to see signs that the integration of Ukrainian

00:45:54technologies is starting to run deeper than many might have thought. An interesting piece of news broke

00:45:59on March 31st. Defense One reported that now-retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg had joined the

00:46:04board of a company named Powerus. That news seems irrelevant at first, but then you learn that Powerus

00:46:09is a Florida-based company that has been created to acquire technology from and build relationships with

00:46:15Ukrainian drone manufacturers. Kellogg, who advised Trump during his first term and was elected as the

00:46:20Special Envoy to Russia and Ukraine back in November 2024, could provide Ukraine's drone

00:46:25manufacturers with a direct link to the White House. This is often how relationships between

00:46:29two countries are strengthened, not by grand gestures but by moves happening behind the scenes

00:46:34that build entire networks of relationships. So the arrival of SkyMap is massive in the Gulf

00:46:39region and for Operation Epic Fury, but it's also part of a much broader plan that Ukraine has put in

00:46:44place to make itself an indispensable partner to the US. We're seeing direct examples of Ukraine helping

00:46:50the US to achieve its goals in Iran. We're also seeing Ukraine deploy drone experts to European

00:46:55countries, which feeds into the unshackling of European defenses from the US, the Trump administration

00:47:00seems to desire. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is actively pushing for multi-year drone

00:47:06deals with the US. SkyMap is on a seek-and-destroy mission for Iranian Shahids in Prince Sultan Air Base,

00:47:12but Ukraine itself is on a seek-and-strengthen mission for every relationship that it shares with its

00:47:17allies. Ukraine's interceptor drones are already flying in the Gulf states, but Ukraine's President

00:47:23Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been dropping hints. More is coming and even the US isn't ready for this.

00:47:29Ukraine is gearing up to release something massive in the Strait of Hormuz. Blockade? What blockade?

00:47:35Iran can't stop what's coming as Ukraine is stepping up to deliver the exact thing that Iran's regime

00:47:40never wanted to see in its vital waterway. Speaking at a security summit on the Strait of Hormuz,

00:47:45Zelenskyy said the words that every Gulf state wanted to hear.

00:47:49Also, if we have our drone deal with Middle Eastern countries, our sea drones are included in it.

00:47:54Therefore, anything can appear. We can join in on defense. We can help with convoys,

00:47:58Zelenskyy told the gathered delegates. In one fell swoop, Zelenskyy established that Ukraine has gone

00:48:03from a country that relied on others to combat Russia's war of aggression to a powerful military

00:48:07nation that is capable of helping others in their time of need. Ukraine has already sent drone experts

00:48:13to the Middle East. Over 200 of its best and brightest are working with the Gulf states to

00:48:17help them figure out how to use interceptor drones to stop Iran's swooping Shahids in their tracks.

00:48:22Those experts are even directly destroying Iran's Shahids, at least if Zelenskyy is to be believed.

00:48:27So what we're seeing here is a step up. The interceptors are already flying. Now the naval drones

00:48:33are coming and as you'll soon find out, they can do a lot more than take out the vessels that

00:48:37Iran is

00:48:37deploying into the Strait of Hormuz. Zelenskyy's big hint came during an online security summit that was

00:48:43held in advance of a follow-up summit that the UK is set to host in London. That summit will

00:48:48involve

00:48:4835 nations and is set to cover how the collective West, seemingly minus the US, is going to move

00:48:54towards securing the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of Operation Epic Fury. The UK's Prime Minister,

00:48:59Zakir Starmer, says that this upcoming summit will,

00:49:02"...assess viable diplomatic and political measures we can take to restore freedom of navigation,

00:49:07guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers, and to resume the movement of vital

00:49:11commodities." For Ukraine, this is an opportunity. Zelenskyy has just told us precisely how his

00:49:17country intends to make itself one of the key players in the Gulf region. Ukraine's president

00:49:22also mentioned the decades-long deals with Gulf states, which will be the route through which

00:49:26Ukraine's seaborne drones make it into the Strait of Hormuz. Those straits have felt the impact of

00:49:31Operation Epic Fury and the Strait of Hormuz blockades in their pocketbooks. According to analyst

00:49:35Oghuzhan Akhena, daily exports of oil from Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United

00:49:41Arab Emirates or UAE have already dropped from 12.3 million barrels to 7.8 million barrels by the

00:49:48end of March. All told, the AA outlet says, "...the cost to these nations when combining lost oil and

00:49:54gas revenue with damage done to them by Iran's missiles and Shahid drones could exceed $50 billion

00:49:59by the time the war is over." Those Gulf states need an ally who can help them defend their ships

00:50:04and infrastructure against Iran's drones. Ukraine has stepped up. On April 19th, just a couple of

00:50:10days before Zelenskyy dropped the biggest hint yet that sea drones are on their way to the Gulf,

00:50:15Ukraine officially reached agreements on 10-year defense deals with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

00:50:20Those deals have been in the works for some time. Now, pen has been put to paper, and Zelenskyy suggests

00:50:26this may be the starting point for something much bigger. We have agreed on 10-year contracts

00:50:30already with three key countries, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, and Qatar. We already have requests

00:50:35from 11 countries, the Middle East and the Gulf, and are also gradually looking toward the Caucasus,

00:50:40Zelenskyy said when announcing the deals. These deals are as important for Ukraine as they are for

00:50:44the Gulf states. As Politico points out, Ukraine has used these deals to secure an oil lifeline

00:50:50following a winter where Russia constantly struck Ukraine's energy grids and infrastructure.

00:50:54Crude oil will be delivered to European refineries to be turned into fuel that will

00:50:58head to Ukraine, Zelenskyy says. In some cases, the Gulf states will be providing diesel directly.

00:51:03Financial assistance and missile interceptors will also be coming Ukraine's way,

00:51:07demonstrating that these deals aren't a case of one-way traffic of Ukraine's drones to the Gulf.

00:51:11Ukraine is being treated as an equal partner, and that means it's getting as good as it gives.

00:51:16We also can't ignore what this latest morsel of information from Zelenskyy means for Ukraine's

00:51:21position with its Western partners. Ukraine's president has smartly told the very people who

00:51:25have spent four years helping Ukraine to battle against Russian aggression that it's ready to help.

00:51:30The UK, at the very least, seems keen to see Ukraine's naval drones enter the Strait of Hormuz.

00:51:35Starmer labeled the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz a

00:51:38global responsibility ahead of the virtual conference where Zelenskyy dropped his hint.

00:51:42We must reassure commercial shipping and support mine clearance operations to

00:51:46ensure a return to global stability and security, Starmer has declared.

00:51:50Part of reassuring commercial shipping will be ensuring that non-military vessels have protection

00:51:55against future Iranian Shahid and fast boat raids. Ukraine's naval drones are perfect for that task.

00:52:01The UK recognizes that fact, and it has already said that Ukraine could play a

00:52:05useful role in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. That useful role isn't limited to providing

00:52:11naval drones and interceptors. Ukraine has experience in dealing with blockades,

00:52:15specifically the one Russia tried to put in place in Ukraine's key food security corridors in the

00:52:19Black Sea. Granted, Ukraine was dealing with Russian warships operating as part of the Black Sea fleet,

00:52:24rather than the drones and fast boats that Iran is using in the Strait of Hormuz.

00:52:28But many of the weapons that it used to clear that blockade, including the naval drones that now seem

00:52:33to be heading to the Gulf, were key in that operation. Ukraine has the blueprint, and most importantly,

00:52:38the combat-tested expertise that demonstrates its drones will work in the Gulf. Ukraine's drones are ready to go.

00:52:45But there's one unexpected barrier that the country may have to overcome. We mentioned earlier that

00:52:50the US wasn't formally involved in the conference where Zelensky made his announcement. There could

00:52:54be all sorts of reasons for that, but one of them may be that the US believes that it has

00:52:58its own

00:52:58solution for the Strait of Hormuz. America has responded to Iran's blockade, and the regime's

00:53:03refusal to negotiate a deal that suits the US by creating a blockade of its own. For that reason,

00:53:09Zelensky dropping the kinds of hints that he has just dropped will be as much of a shock to the

00:53:12US

00:53:13as it is to the Iranian regime that wants to dominate in Hormuz using its asymmetric tactics.

00:53:18At the time of this video's creation, the US blockade was still in force. On April 20th,

00:53:23US President Donald Trump announced that the US has no intention of lifting the blockade

00:53:27until a deal is reached with Iran. Trump seems happy with the blockade's effects. In an April 20th

00:53:33post on Truth Social, Trump declared that the US blockade is absolutely destroying Iran,

00:53:38and that it's costing the Iranian regime a staggering $500 million per day.

00:53:42The US and Iran also don't seem to be getting much closer to striking a deal that would end the

00:53:47US

00:53:47blockade. Despite talks being ongoing, both countries are engaged in tip-for-tap threatening

00:53:52of each other. Also on April 20th, Iran said that it would retaliate after the US seized that Iranian

00:53:57cargo tanker the day before. Trump has claimed that the US will start attacking civilian infrastructure

00:54:03in Iran if future negotiations fail, while Iran is still far from a certainty to even turn up to

00:54:08the latest talks in Pakistan. So the Strait of Hormuz situation is still unstable, and the question

00:54:14has to be asked, would the US be happy to see Ukraine's naval drones enter the waterway?

00:54:19That's a difficult question to answer. On March 5th, which was around the one-week point of Operation

00:54:23Epic Fury, Zelensky claimed that the US had asked for Ukraine's help to combat Iran's Shahid

00:54:28drones. Ukraine's President said at the time that Ukraine would be more than willing to swap

00:54:32its interceptor drones and expertise for Patriot air defenses with the US.

00:54:36Trump seemed open to the help at the time. He even said that he would

00:54:39take any assistance from any country in the wake of Zelensky's remarks. But just 11 days later,

00:54:45the Independent was reporting that the US had snubbed Ukraine's offers to help by providing

00:54:48its drone tech. As is so often the case, Ukraine doesn't quite know where it stands with the US.

00:54:53That leads us back to Zelensky's big hint. If the US doesn't want Ukraine's help in the Strait

00:54:58of Hormuz, then Ukraine won't chase it. It will bypass. That's what the decade-long defense

00:55:03deals with Gulf nations are really all about, as Ukraine is setting itself up as the supplier of

00:55:07key weapons to nations that have been impacted by American and Iranian actions in the Strait of

00:55:12Hormuz. Let's come back to the weapons themselves. Ukraine's interceptor drones are already flying in

00:55:18the Gulf region. Now Ukraine is stepping up to deliver naval drones to its new Gulf partners.

00:55:23But will these drones really make the sort of massive difference in the Strait of Hormuz that could

00:55:26end the blockade once and for all? Before we answer that question, this is a quick reminder

00:55:30that you are watching The Military Show. If you haven't subscribed yet, now is the perfect time

00:55:35before we get into what Ukraine's sea drones really have to offer.

00:55:38Now, we know the basics of sea drones. These unmanned surface vessels are remotely controlled

00:55:44and can be used to deliver powerful warheads to ships. That's all well and good, and Ukraine has been

00:55:49using its naval drones for that purpose in the Black Sea for years. But Ukraine never stands still.

00:55:53It innovates constantly, and some recent developments in the sea drone space have

00:55:58taken these weapons from being a nice-to-have in the Strait of Hormuz to potentially blockade-ending

00:56:03assets that the Gulf states and the Western nations that want to reopen the waterway could use.

00:56:08First, we go back to March 17th. On that date, Militani reported on a remarkable achievement made by one

00:56:14of Ukraine's Magyra V-7 drones. This achievement hadn't been made public until this point. It actually

00:56:20happened in September 2025 when Ukraine was taking part in the NATO Repmus and Dynamic

00:56:26Messenger exercises that were held off the Portuguese coast. Those exercises involved

00:56:31Blues, which were the NATO forces, and Reds, which just so happened to be using Ukraine's Magyra V-7

00:56:36drones to combat NATO's warships in a wargame scenario. Five scenarios were created for these wargames.

00:56:43In all five, the Reds defeated the Blues. To do so, the Reds used different versions of the Magyra V

00:56:49-7

00:56:49naval drone, which were adapted to serve specific purposes in each exercise.

00:56:53One case saw a Magyra equipped with reconnaissance gear to help the Reds guide traffic off the coast

00:56:58of Portugal. Another saw Ukraine's drone loaded with a machine gun that it could use to blast

00:57:03away at threats on the water. But the biggest achievement for the Magyra, by far, was the

00:57:07simulated sinking of at least one NATO frigate. Under the rules of the wargames, a victory was

00:57:12counted if one of Ukraine's drones managed to lock onto a target, such as the radar system of a ship,

00:57:17without being detected by the Blues. The Magyra succeeded over and over again.

00:57:22This is the type of naval drone that is going to be heading to the Gulf,

00:57:25and Iran has to be worried. The Magyra V-7 has been around since 2025. It has a cruising speed

00:57:31of

00:57:3123 knots, though it can reach a top speed of 39 knots, more than enough for it to be able

00:57:36to engage

00:57:36in chases with Iran's fastboats, if the situation calls for it. The standard version of the drone can

00:57:42stay at sea for a solid 48 hours, and it has a range of 800 nautical miles. Most worryingly for

00:57:49Iran, the Magyra V-7 can carry a 650kg, or over 1,400lb, payload. We already know that is enough

00:57:56to sink a NATO frigate during wargames. For the much smaller boats that Iran is trying to use to

00:58:01dominate the Strait of Hormuz, that kind of explosive power is a death sentence.

00:58:06So the Gulf nations may be getting their hands on a sea drone that can deal with threats presented by

00:58:10Iran's navy. But what about Iran's Shahid drones? Those drones have been flying all over the Strait

00:58:15of Hormuz, targeting commercial vessels and essentially preventing the Gulf states

00:58:19from getting their oil and cargo to other nations. Ukraine has already provided a solution to the

00:58:24Shahids in the form of its interceptor drones. However, those drones are at their best when

00:58:29defending static targets that are on the territory of the nation that is using them. Commercial ships

00:58:34aren't static targets. But this doesn't mean that Ukraine's sea drones can't help to tackle

00:58:39Iran's Shahid threat in the Strait of Hormuz. On April 19, Militani broke the news that Ukraine

00:58:44has used a naval drone carrier to intercept a Russian Shahid-type drone for the first time.

00:58:49What we saw in this operation was Ukraine managing to use one of its naval drones as a mothership for

00:58:54aerial drones, which were launched into the skies from the sea drone itself. Ukraine hasn't revealed

00:58:59which of its naval drones it used for this operation. However, March saw reports that Ukraine

00:59:04had modified some of its Magyra drones to make them capable of carrying and launching interceptor drones.

00:59:09That seems like a pretty big clue. Ukraine has also released footage of its world-first achievement.

00:59:15The video shows one of Ukraine's interceptors hurtling into the skies after being unleashed

00:59:19from the deck of a naval drone. The view then switches to that being captured by the interceptor

00:59:24as it bears down on the Russian Shahid drone. Static follows. The drone scored a direct hit.

00:59:29And just like that, Ukraine has revealed that it has expanded its ability to deal with aerial drone threats.

00:59:35The concept of launching aerial drones from a naval drone isn't new for Ukraine. It's done it before,

00:59:40primarily using FPV drones launched from its sea drones to take out much larger Russian aerial assets

00:59:45such as helicopters. But this is the first time that we've seen Ukraine's new breed of interceptors

00:59:50being launched from one of its sea drones. The synergy is clear to see. Ukraine is already shipping

00:59:55interceptors into the Gulf region. Now it's showcasing new abilities in its sea drones that allow the Gulf states

01:00:00to sail their interceptors into the Strait of Hormuz. Think about the possibilities here.

01:00:05The likes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar will be able to send their tankers into the Strait of Hormuz

01:00:09alongside a hidden Magyar presence. If a Shahid emerges, the Magyar pops up and unleashes an

01:00:15interceptor. And if a fast boat attempts to intercept, the Magyar can fire on it with a machine gun or,

01:00:19if needed, obliterate the boat using its massive explosive payload. And on top of all of this,

01:00:25we can't forget what Ukraine's naval drones have achieved in the past. These drones are one of the

01:00:29biggest reasons why a third of Russia's notorious Black Sea fleet have been taken out by March 2024.

01:00:35Naval drones, along with missiles and aerial drones, have been hitting Russia's warships so hard

01:00:39that they've been forced to withdraw from Crimea. Now those ships linger in the mainland port of

01:00:44Novorossiysk, having been pushed away from Crimea. Russia's warships rarely sail now. They know that

01:00:51Ukraine's sea drones await them. Ukraine has also used the types of drones that Zelenskyy hints are

01:00:55coming to the Gulf to disable at least one Russian submarine. Iran just so happens to have an

01:01:00estimated 28 to 30 submarines in its fleet. Those subs aren't safe if Ukrainian sea drones enter the

01:01:07Strait of Hormuz. Ukraine has also used its naval drones to attack the Kerch Bridge that links occupied

01:01:12Crimea to the Russian mainland. So you can throw strikes against sea-based infrastructure into the

01:01:17mix of what Gulf states are going to be getting from Ukraine. We wonder if Kamikaze Magyar drones will

01:01:22soon be finding their way to Iranian ports to stop fast boat launches at their source.

01:01:26It's this level of versatility that makes Ukraine's sea drones such a vital asset in the Strait of

01:01:31Hormuz. Almost nothing that Iran might deploy from that waterway will be safe from these drones.

01:01:37Shahids can be taken down by interceptors launched from the decks of Ukraine's naval drones.

01:01:41Any boats that Iran sends into the Strait of Hormuz, from fast boats to warships and even to submarines,

01:01:46are at risk. Ukraine's drones can hit them all. And with Ukraine having over 200 of its drone

01:01:51experts already stationed in the Gulf region, Ukraine's new partners will be able to learn

01:01:55about and deploy its new drones based on the blueprint that has already been proven to work

01:01:59against Russia. As for Ukraine, it will take another huge step toward becoming a powerhouse

01:02:04player in the Gulf region when its sea drones arrive. Thus, Ukraine's transformation will be

01:02:09complete. When Russia invaded in February 2022, Ukraine had a military that largely relied on Soviet-era

01:02:16equipment. It still managed to survive, and waves of Western support helped in the years that

01:02:20followed. But Ukraine is now so much more than it was. The country leads the world in drone development,

01:02:26and it has the solutions that the Gulf nations need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Ukrainian naval

01:02:31drones are about to be unleashed into the one place where Iran doesn't want to see them. The regime

01:02:36can't do a thing about what's coming. Ukraine's latest move just adds to what it's already been

01:02:41doing in the Strait of Hormuz. We've touched on interceptor drones and 10-year deals in this video.

01:02:46Now find out how Ukraine is using its wealth of experience in dealing with Russia to turn

01:02:50itself into one of the most important partners that the Gulf states will ever have. Check out

01:02:55our video which covers how Ukraine is building unexpected alliances and what all of this means

01:02:59for Russia. And if you enjoyed this video, remember to subscribe to The Military Show to ensure you never

01:03:04miss our coverage of the latest developments in Ukraine and the Gulf. And thank you for watching.

Nobody Expected Ukraine to Show Up in the Iran War… What Happened Next Shocked EVERYONE

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