A Ukrainian drone (archive image): The US government is delaying a deal.Image: IMAGO/Dmytro Smolienko
The agreement has long been concluded. But Trump’s government repeatedly delays a drone deal with Kyiv. Now accusations are coming.
June 8, 2026, 5:43 p.mJune 8, 2026, 5:43 p.m
The matter seemed to have been sealed long ago. US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to a drone deal last September. The USA wanted to benefit from Ukraine’s technological lead in the new type of weapon. But the deal has stalled since then. Most recently, Zelenskyj complained on Platform X: “We still don’t have a drone deal.”
Now security experts are sounding the alarm. “The United States is putting its own troops at risk by not working as closely as possible with the Ukrainians on drone development,” wrote Phillips O’Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
Ukraine is dependent on US support for air defense missiles. But the country is considered a world leader in drone technology. German companies are working with Ukrainian start-ups in drone development. Just at the beginning of the year, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Zelensky visited a Quantum Frontline factory in Bavaria. NATO countries such as Poland and Sweden are having their troops trained in the new warfare by Ukrainian experts.
The USA also wanted to benefit from the technological advantage of the Ukrainian army. On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last fall, Trump and Zelensky agreed to a drone deal.
US President Donald Trump is criticized by security experts. (archive image)Image: keystone
Apart from further confirmations, little has happened since then. The background is unclear. “Lethargy,” explained an insider to the US news platform “The Hill”.
Michael E. O’Hanlon from the Brookings Institution in Washington told the news portal: “Perhaps a procedural aspect is delaying the process – or political considerations and instructions from the White House are responsible for this, as President Trump remains unpredictable in his commitment to Ukraine.”
Guessing about consideration for Putin
Given the war in the Gulf, US access to new drone developments is becoming increasingly important for the security of its own troops in the region. Just last week, the Bloomberg news agency reported that Ukraine would train US soldiers in drone defense.
Security experts are all the more perplexed about Trump’s motives. Rebeccah Heinrichs from the Hudson Institute in Washington told The Hill: “I don’t know if there is an obstacle – whether those involved have different views on what the process should look like or what should happen first – but there is clearly a big advantage for the USA in cooperation with Ukraine on drones.”
The American-British security expert Phillips O’Brien suspects that the delay is due to consideration for Russian head of state Vladimir Putin. O’Brien warned on