Ukraine ready to sign landmark drone defense deal with U.S., sources say

Kyiv — Ukraine is ready to sign a landmark drone defense deal with the United States, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is prepared to sign the deal on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week in New York City, but the sources said the deal may instead be finalized at a later date, when the U.S. is ready to sign. Over the past year, the Department of Defense and its Ukrainian counterpart have developed a framework that would allow the two countries' militaries to expand testing and production of Ukrainian defense technology in the U.S. The importance of expanding partnerships with Ukraine's defense industry has become increasingly clear to the U.S. and its allies throughout the war with Iran. During the first days of the war, Iran began targeting American military installations across the Middle East with Shahed one-way attack drones — the same type of drones Russia has used to attack Ukraine's cities. As the U.S. and the Gulf states initially lacked cost-effective means to intercept the drones, Kyiv sent drone interceptors and pilots to help. Ukraine has since signed defense agreements with Saudi Arab...