Overview
- Visiting Kyiv, Armed Forces Minister Al Carns said Ukraine’s combat-honed drone technology could aid efforts to protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Britain has convened talks with more than 30 countries on reopening the strait after Iranian actions disrupted oil flows through the narrow waterway that carries much of the world’s seaborne crude.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine joined navigation-safety consultations and sent more than 200 experts to the Middle East who have shot down Iran’s Shahed attack drones.
- Carns urged Kyiv to speed defense export licensing to seize a short market window, with Reuters noting Ukraine issued its first licenses in February and some executives warn delays could forfeit an early lead.
- He said the UK is absorbing Ukraine’s advances in drones, data use and AI, as British-based partners produce Ukrainian-designed interceptor drones and the Magura sea drone.