Ukraine and Azerbaijan sign drone contracts, Zelensky says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said contracts under Ukraine’s Drone Deal cooperation with Azerbaijan had already been signed. He disclosed the agreements after meeting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Dublin on 12 November.

The disclosure follows the presidents’ April 25 meeting in Gabala, where they signed 6 documents whose full contents were not made public. Zelensky described security as the main area of cooperation and called the signing of documents on joint defense production a very serious step. He said Ukrainian drone specialists were already working in Azerbaijan. Aliyev said the two had discussed military cooperation and saw opportunities for joint production.

What the contracts cover

Zelensky made the confirmation in a Telegram statement quoted by JAMnews. He did not specify the drone types or quantities, the contracts’ values or the companies responsible. The signing dates are also undisclosed.

Drone Deal is Ukraine’s framework of agreements with other governments to share military technology, primarily drones and systems that counter them. The wider framework provides for arms supplies, joint production, technology transfers and the sharing of battlefield experience. Those general provisions do not establish the terms of the Azerbaijani contracts.

JAMnews says the wider initiative offers Ukraine long-term foreign orders and funding for its defense industry during the war, while partners gain access to combat-tested technology. Under the programme’s general rules, technology is transferred for use while intellectual-property rights remain with Ukraine. These programme-level benefits and rules do not establish the benefits or terms of the Azerbaijani contracts.

Azerbaijan’s official account of the Dublin meeting did not mention drones or defense cooperation. It focused on trade and economic ties, delegation exchanges and Zelensky’s thanks for electrical equipment Azerbaijan had supplied.

From Gabala to Dublin

In August, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov visited Kyiv. He and Zelensky discussed defense cooperation and implementation of Drone Deal, JAMnews said, citing Interfax-Ukraine.

JAMnews suggested that Azerbaijan’s quieter public approach was likely shaped by its relations with Russia. The outlet cited tensions after an Azerbaijani passenger plane was shot down by Russian air defenses in December 2024, killing 38 people. In April, the countries’ leaders acknowledged that the aircraft had been shot down unintentionally; Bayramov said in July, after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, that a difficult period in relations was over.

Zelensky said work was underway to expand orders beyond the contracts already signed. He did not give a timetable for implementing the contracts or dates for deliveries.