The Ukraine Strait of Hormuz role is gaining attention after Britain said Kyiv could help international efforts to secure the strategic waterway, pointing to Ukraine’s drone expertise and battlefield innovation as valuable assets in the Middle East.
Britain’s armed services minister, Al Carns, said Ukraine had developed some of the best military technology in the world during its war with Russia. He suggested that expertise could prove useful in efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after an Iranian blockade disrupted global oil supplies.
Britain has organised this month’s discussions involving more than 30 nations on how to reopen the strait. The effort comes as the blockade continues to affect oil flows and wider economic stability.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv had already joined consultations on safeguarding navigation. Ukraine is drawing on four years of wartime experience and has sent more than 200 experts to the Middle East, where they have helped counter Iran’s long-range Shahed drones.
During a visit to Kyiv, Carns said Ukraine’s wartime innovation had created world-class capabilities in drone systems, data use and artificial intelligence. He said those advances could provide utility not only against Shahed drones, but also in broader security efforts tied to the Strait of Hormuz. Carns described the changes as a “revolution in military affairs” and said Britain also had much to learn from Ukraine’s battlefield experience.
Although Carns highlighted Ukraine’s possible role in the Middle East, he also said his visit was meant to reassure Kyiv that the war in Ukraine remained Britain’s main defence and security priority. He downplayed tensions inside NATO after criticism from US President Donald Trump over Europe’s stance on the Iran war.
According to Carns, NATO remains the backbone of shared security even as different crises compete for attention. Carns also encouraged Ukraine to move faster in exporting its military technology before other countries catch up. Kyiv issued its first export licences in February, hoping to raise funds, expand its defence industry and use weapons exports as diplomatic leverage. However, some industry executives say the process is moving too slowly. Carns echoed that concern, warning that Ukraine still has some of the best systems but may lose its edge if approvals continue to lag.
Britain is home to a plant producing Ukrainian interceptor drones, which began production in February. It adds that a UK-headquartered Ukrainian military technology company, UForce, makes the Magura sea drone. That points to a growing defence partnership between London and Kyiv, one that now stretches from the war in Ukraine to wider regional security challenges.
