How The Gulf Plays Both Sides In The Ukraine-Russia War (S01E166)

Thursday, October 8, 2026, Paris

Earlier this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tried to convince Gulf countries to join the effort to counter Russia’s invasion of his country, to frame the conflict against Islamic Republic and Putin’s autocracy as part of the same war.

It was a tough sell. Russia has deep financial and diplomatic ties to the Gulf states.

In the latest episode of badlands, Anastasiya Shapochkina and Bohdan Kostiuk join me for an interview about their recent report, “Fault Lines Exposed: Russia–GCC Relations After the Iran War.” It examines the three-way relationship between Russia, Iran, and the Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

In the interview we explore the strange dichotomy of Gulf states and Russia continued friendly relations, even as Russia allegedly provides weapons and satellite information that allows Iran to strike their military bases.

We also discuss whether the needle has moved at all in diplomatic efforts to resolve a war that has now stretched longer than the First World War.

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