Washington: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also expected to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday, emphasizing the increasing overlaps between the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the US war against Iran.

According to Deutsche Welle, the meeting comes after Ukraine reportedly carried out long-range strikes against Iranian-linked vessels in the Caspian Sea over the weekend, which Zelenskyy claimed had been carrying military cargo linked to Iran. Tehran confirmed that one of its ships had exploded in the attack, resulting in the death of a sailor and injuring several others. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei warned that Ukraine's actions amounted to a "dangerous act of adventurism."

The common denominator in both conflicts, according to Kyiv, is Russia, which is separated from northern Iran by only a short sea route bypassing Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea or by a 250-kilometer (155-mile) strip of Azeri territory over land. Earlier this month, Zelenskyy claimed that Moscow has been providing Tehran with satellite imagery of US bases in the Gulf region.

President Trump has played down the impact of any potential Russian assistance for Iran, telling reporters on Air Force One on Monday that he does not believe Russia has been providing significant support to Iran, stating, "I don't think they've been doing it, certainly not at a high level. And if they have, it has been very un-impactful."

Other overlapping issues linking the wars in Ukraine and Iran include the stretching of US munitions stockpiles available for each theater and the cutting-edge Ukrainian experience in drone warfare, which Kyiv has been sharing with the US.