Ukraine President says Russia ordered some 2,000 drones from Iran
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Alaina
- . October 25, 2022
- . Update: November 11, 2022 1:23 am
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that Russia ordered around 2,000 Shaheds’ from the Islamic Republic of Iran.
During a speech at a conference organised by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Ukrainian president said, “The disgusting sound of Iranian drones is heard in our skies every night. According to our intelligence, Russia ordered about 2,000 ‘Shaheds’ from Iran.” However, it was not clear whether the Ukrainian president was referring to Russia’s past purchases or new ones.
Earlier this month, Zelenskyy accused Russia of targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure using Iran-made drones and missiles. He said that Russian forces used Iranian-made drones sent from neighbouring Belarus. According to Ukrainian officials, Russia attacked Ukraine using dozens of “kamikaze” drones, which destroyed energy infrastructure and killed civilians. Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, also condemned Russia’s strikes on energy infrastructure. Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, condemned Iran.
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Subsequently, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said that Ukraine should cut diplomatic ties with Iran. Last week, Kuleba said that Ukraine was sure that Russia used Iranian drones to target Ukrainian cities, and would be ready to provide a “bag of evidence” to European powers.
He also urged the European Union (EU) to impose sanctions on Iran “for helping Russia to kill Ukrainians.” Later on, Denmark, Estonia, France and Germany also called for sanctions against Iran over the supply of drones to Russia.
Four diplomats and a French official also said that the European Union governments agreed to impose new sanctions on Iranian generals and companies over drone supplies to Russia. According to a French official, two diplomats said Shahed Aviation Industries, which produces the drones, would also be listed in the list of sanctions. However, Iran has repeatedly denied those allegations. According to Iranian officials, those are baseless and fake news.
