Ukraine Urges More Sanctions On Iran After Drone Attacks
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Alaina
- . October 18, 2022
- . Update: November 11, 2022 12:59 am
The Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, has called for more EU (European Union) sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran after Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, was hit by swarms of kamikaze drones.
On Twitter, Kuleba “requested more air defence and supply of ammunition and called on the EU to impose sanctions on Iran for providing Russia with drones”, referring to the Iranian drones Russia has been using in its war against Ukraine.
Several European Union (EU) foreign ministers have also called for sanctions against Iran over the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia. EU leaders also said that Iran was responsible for the “murders of Ukrainians.”
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said that Kyiv’s reports on the Iranian origin of the drones should be taken seriously. France and Germany said that the drone transfers should be seen as a violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution.
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Denmark’s Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said, “Iranian drones are used apparently to attack in the middle of Kyiv, this is an atrocity.”
The Ukrainian military said that Iranian drones and missiles were targeting towns and cities across Ukraine. The defence ministry said in a statement, “The Ukrainian military shot down 37 Iranian Shahed-136 drones and three cruise missiles launched by Russian terrorists.”
Meanwhile, EU ministers agreed on a separate set of asset freezes and travel bans for 11 Iranians and four institutions over Tehran’s crackdown on anti-hijab and anti-government protests.
Protests erupted in various cities in Iran on September 16 after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman. Anger flared at her funeral ceremony in her hometown in Saqqez on September 17. The demonstrations became the biggest wave of protests to rock the Islamic nation in almost three years. Many women stood against the Iranian security forces, demanding justice for Amini.
