Zelenskyy says Ukraine has reached a security cooperation arrangement with India — documents being finalized
Ukraine has reached a security cooperation arrangement with India, with the paperwork now being finalized, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening video address on 19 April.
Zelenskyy said Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council and Ukraine's lead negotiator, had briefed him on the contacts with New Delhi shortly before the address was recorded.
"There is already an arrangement on security cooperation with India — we are finalizing it so that there are documents. Rustem has just briefed me on the details," Zelenskyy said.
Part of a wider push into Asia and the Gulf
The India track is part of a broader effort to expand Ukraine's security footprint beyond Europe. On 11 April, Zelenskyy said Kyiv had begun negotiations with Asian countries on technology exports. Before that, Ukraine established security contacts with Middle Eastern states, including the Persian Gulf, offering its military expertise in defense against Iranian drones. On 1 April, Zelenskyy said that expertise was already producing results in the region in countering Iranian UAVs.
According to LIGA.net, Umerov has become "one of the key trump cards" of Zelenskyy's team in the Middle East, as described by Oleksandr Merezhko, a Servant of the People MP and chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy.
Zelenskyy said Umerov is currently working with several countries and that more agreements are expected. He stressed that the army, defense capabilities, and air defense remain the state's priority.
Recent European defense agreements
The India arrangement follows a string of European defense deals signed earlier in April:
- On 14 April in Berlin, Zelenskyy signed an agreement on closer defense cooperation with Germany, particularly on air defense and unmanned aerial vehicle technologies.
- The same day, Ukraine and Norway signed an agreement on industrial cooperation covering joint drone production and exchange of military experience.
- On 16 April, Zelenskyy signed a defense cooperation document with the Netherlands.
Unblocking EU support and sanctions on Russia
In the same address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine is preparing new work with European partners to unblock a support package that has been approved but has not yet begun arriving. "It is important to unblock it," he said.
He also commented on US policy on Russian oil: "Unfortunately, there is another decision by America to ease oil sanctions. There will be no real benefit from this for diplomacy, and every dollar from oil only sets Russia up to keep fighting."
Zelenskyy said Ukraine's long-range strikes continue to degrade Russian oil infrastructure. "Just in this March, Russian oil losses from our long-range capability are estimated at at least 2 billion 300 million dollars. That is one month. Now, in April, we continue," he said.
He singled out the 1st Separate Center of Unmanned Systems of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the 98th Reconnaissance Center of the Special Operations Forces, the 19th Missile Brigade, the 360th Separate Coastal Missile Brigade, and Ukraine's special services — the Security Service of Ukraine and intelligence agencies — for their role in the strikes. He said he had discussed continued long-range operations with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
