Iceland considers drone defence cooperation with Ukraine

Icelandic authorities are considering cooperation with Ukraine that could draw on Ukrainian experience in countering drones to strengthen the security of critical infrastructure, mbl.is reports.

The Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs said the possible cooperation could include Ukraine sharing knowledge and experience of drone defence, as well as ways to improve the resilience and security of critical infrastructure.

However, the ministry stressed that no decision has been made on the cooperation or how it would be implemented.

mbl.is reported that Iceland and Ukraine were preparing a separate agreement on cooperation involving unmanned systems, including drones. Ukrainian media quoted Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha as saying that he and Iceland’s Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir had agreed to speed up preparations for signing a drone agreement between the countries.

The proposed agreement was not mentioned in the Icelandic Foreign Ministry’s statement about their meeting last week, although it became a main focus of media coverage in Ukraine.

The ministry did not directly answer whether the agreement would represent a change in Iceland’s approach to defence assistance for Ukraine. Instead, it referred to possible cooperation on drone defence and the protection of critical infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously urged Iceland to invest in Ukrainian production of long-range drones, ammunition, missiles and other weapons during a meeting with then Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson in October 2024.

It is not known whether a possible drone agreement is connected to that request. The Icelandic government’s account of the 2024 meeting said the two sides had discussed the war and cooperation projects between Iceland and Ukraine, but did not mention the proposed investment in weapons production.