U.S. and Ukraine Draft Memorandum for New Defense Deal on Drones

Kyiv — The U.S. and Ukrainian governments have drafted a memorandum that outlines terms for a potential new defense deal, three sources familiar with the matter said.

U.S. State Department officials and Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Olha Stefanishyna worked out the draft. It represents an initial step toward an agreement that would let Ukraine export military technology to the U.S. and produce drones through joint ventures with American companies.

Ukraine has drawn on innovations from its military and defense contractors, developed during more than four years of war with Russia. Kyiv has sent drone interceptors and pilots to the Middle East to assist U.S. allies against Iranian-designed Shahed drones, the same type Russia uses to strike Ukrainian towns and cities.

Over the past two months, Ukraine signed defense agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Ukrainian officials said more deals are coming.

"Nearly 20 countries are currently involved at various stages: 4 agreements have already been signed, and the first contracts under these agreements are now being prepared," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

Ukrainian officials first proposed drone cooperation to the White House in August 2025. That followed President Trump's private praise for Operation Spiderweb, a Ukrainian drone strike deep inside Russia. Pilots remotely flew explosive drones from trucks smuggled into the country. The attack destroyed dozens of Russian warplanes parked on tarmacs nationwide.

Such collaboration with the U.S. would benefit both sides, Ukrainian officials told CBS News. American funding would boost defense production in each country.

Ukraine's National Security Council forecasts $55 billion in defense production capacity for 2026. The country has money this year for just $15 billion in weapons, said Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's Ministry of Strategic Industries.

Ukraine also makes weapons systems the U.S. has not focused on. One manufacturer aims to produce more than 3 million low-cost first-person-view military drones in 2026. The U.S. produced 300,000 in 2025.

Ukrainian firms develop electronic warfare tools as well. Sine Engineering, a Ukrainian defense company, got a multi-million-dollar investment from the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. Its technology lets drones fly without GPS to avoid jamming.

Several Ukrainian companies have taken technology to the U.S. In March, General Cherry, a major Ukrainian drone maker, agreed to produce unmanned aerial vehicles with American firm Wilcox Industries.

The Pentagon invited Ukrainian companies into its Drone Dominance initiative, a $1.1 billion program to select drones for military contracts.

A wider defense pact has hit political hurdles, however.

Ukrainian officials told CBS News of a "lack of buy-in" for a drone deal from top figures at the Defense Department and White House, especially since the war in Iran started. Trump publicly rejected Ukraine's offers of counter-drone technology for the Middle East.

"We don't need their help in drone defense," Trump told Fox News in early March. "We know more about drones than anybody. We have the best drones in the world, actually."

Ukraine faces its own constraints from wartime needs. Zelenskyy said the government will ease export restrictions only once it ensures protection for companies' intellectual property and steady supplies for Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion.

The new memorandum between Kyiv and Washington on an early drone deal suggests those barriers are easing.

"In addition to the Middle East and the Gulf, the South Caucasus, and Europe, we will soon launch this new security cooperation within the framework of Drone Deals with another part of the world as well," Zelenskyy said this week on Telegram. "We are preparing positive news for Ukraine."