Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry comments on Iranian claims about drones supplied to Russia
Training with drones at an undisclosed location in Iran (Photo:Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will continue to take "the most stringent measures" to prevent the use of Iranian-made weapons by Russia in the war against Ukraine, the spokesperson for the ministry, Oleg Nikolenko, commented on Tehran's acknowledgment of providing drones to Russia on Facebook on Nov. 5.
"The Irainian Minister of Foreign Affairs has spread insinuations about the Ukrainian side’s alleged refusal to meet with Iranian experts under pressure from Western partners," he wrote.
Nikolenko said Ukraine is taught to trust facts alone. Therefore, the Foreign Ministry works in close coordination with other involved Ukrainian agencies to prevent Russia’s use of Iranian-made drones to kill Ukrainians and destroy critical infrastructure.
"Tehran should be aware that the consequences of complicity in the crimes of Russia's aggression against Ukraine will be much larger than the benefits of Russia’s support," he added.
On Nov. 5, following constant denials, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian acknowledged for the first time that Iran had supplied Russia with drones. Still, he said a limited number of drones had been sent to Russia before the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Iranian minister demanded "proof" that Iranian-made drones are used against Ukraine.
The first reported case of using the Iranian-made suicide drone Shahed-136 was recorded on Sept. 13. The drone was shot down in Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast, the east of Ukraine.
On Oct. 11, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the aggressor country, Russia, had ordered 2,400 Iranian suicide drones, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. After the first Iranian drones were downed, Ukraine did not extend the accreditation of the Iranian ambassador and reduced the number of personnel in the Iranian embassy to a few employees.
The Iranian authorities also intend to supply the Kremlin regime with approximately 1,000 surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missiles, American CNN reported early. Ukrainian military intelligence also confirmed this data.
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