Opinion

Trump’s strike on Iran deals a major blow to Putin’s war machine in Ukraine

The calculus of the war in Ukraine will become more complicated for Russia

By Clara Kaluderovic Fox News

Published March 9, 2026 5:00am EDT

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‘The Five’: Ukraine reportedly to help US combat Iranian drone technology

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Within hours of American munitions striking Iranian soil, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a statement that the Western press largely treated as a diplomatic footnote, but it was a signal that what happens in the skies over Tehran has a direct impact on the ground in Ukraine.

President Zelenskyy explicitly endorsed the strikes, called Iran "Putin's accomplice," noted that his country has absorbed over 57,000 Iranian-supplied drone attacks, and took aim at Moscow: "Whenever there is American resolve, global criminals weaken. This understanding must also come to the Russians."

Zelenskyy’s framing of the war in Iran through the lens of Ukraine's war is not incidental. Whatever Washington's stated objectives, the president, who has lived through the Ukraine conflict since the 2022 invasion, understands that Iran has been an active accomplice in Russia's war against Ukraine, and the United States has now acted against that accomplice.

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By striking the Iranian regime that provided the Shahed drones to Russia (and the ability to manufacture them) that have terrorized the Ukrainian civilian population for over four years, Washington has taken out a key Russian ally, which will negatively impact Russia’s ability to wage war in Europe.

When Iranian-provided drones began........

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