Kyiv rushes to adapt as US focus moves to Middle East

At the Iranian embassy in Kyiv, a salmon-pink mansion on a street close to the presidential administration, there were several open days last week for anyone who wished to come and sign a book of condolences in memory of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran.

- By Shaun Walker KYIV

Inside, mournful music played and candles lined the floor on the way to a room with a portrait of Khamenei and the book to sign. There was, however, no queue of well-wishers.

It might come as a surprise that the embassy still functions at all, given that residents of Kyiv have spent many nights listening to the grating roar of Iranian-designed Shahed drones in the skies, transferred by Tehran to its ally Russia. But nothing is clear-cut when it comes to how the new conflict in the Middle East overlays on Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion.

There is a rise in interest in the Ukrainian technology for battling against Shaheds - being used by Iran to attack its Gulf neighbours - which could lead to new defence partnerships. Conversely, there are now several rich nations ready to boost their air defence spending, meaning there could be less for Ukraine in a market that is already stretched.