In fact, the two countries have signed a defense agreement, and bilateral cooperation has continued to grow.
Anonymous Telegram accounts and pro-Kremlin Russian outlets have amplified a claim that the UAE government rejected a Ukrainian offer to assist with the interception of Iranian drones, citing Al Jazeera as the source.
The story originated in a network of pro-Russian and Iranian Telegram channels — as documented by the Osavul platform — before being picked up by news aggregators and bot accounts across social media.
The claim is a fabrication. No report exists on Al Jazeera’s platforms indicating any breakdown in agreements between the two countries. It is a tactic with precedent: Russian influence operatives have repeatedly appropriated the branding of credible news organizations to lend false authority to disinformation.
The operational reality points in the opposite direction. Since mid-March 2026, 228 Ukrainian specialists have been deployed across the Middle East, advising local air defense forces on countering Iranian strike drones. According to BBC reporting, Ukrainian personnel in at least one country in the region have already participated in a successful drone interception.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has disclosed that Ukraine has received 11 requests from countries neighboring Iran, European governments, and the U.S. regarding security assistance in countering Shahed drones and related threats.
Representatives of Ukraine’s defense industry report receiving dozens of commercial proposals from Gulf states, Middle Eastern countries, and intermediaries — inquiries involving potential contracts for tens of thousands of interceptor drones, with prospective buyers offering above-market rates.
Late in March, Zelensky traveled to Saudi Arabia, where he signed a defense cooperation agreement — a development that runs directly counter to the narrative propagandists have sought to advance.
StopFake has previously debunked a related fabrication claiming that 70 French military personnel were killed in an Iranian strike on a base in Abu Dhabi.
