Ukrainian Air Force looking for ways to counter Iranian missiles
Yuriy Ignat (Photo:Screenshot from the video Ukrinform TV/Youtube)
Ukraine plans to get long-range weapons from its Western partners to counter anticipated Russian strikes with Iran-supplied short-range ballistic missiles, Yuriy Ihnat, Ukrainian Air Forces Command spokesman said at a press briefing on Nov. 7.
Commenting on Iran’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia, he suggested that Moscow would probably use them to attack Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.
Ihnat explained that Iranian missiles fly on a ballistic trajectory through the stratosphere and currently Ukraine lacks effective means to counter them.
“We now expect our partners to provide us the means that would enable us to deal with this threat,” Ihnat said.
“Those would be long-range weapons that could help us protect ourselves from (Iranian) ballistic missiles – from the terror that Russia has unleashed against our people.”
Ukraine’s Military Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov earlier warned that Russia could deploy Iranian missiles against Ukraine as early as November.
The Washington Post reported on Oct. 16 that Iran has agreed to supply Russia with two types of surface-to-surface missiles – the Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar. These short-range ballistic missiles can strike targets up to 700 kilometers away, the newspaper reported.
U.S. news channel CNN reported on Nov. 1 that Iran is preparing to send Russia approximately 1,000 additional weapons to use in its war against Ukraine, including short range ballistic missiles and kamikaze drones.
CNN also reported on Nov. 4 that in exchange for missiles, Iran is seeking Russia’s help to boost its nuclear weapons program.
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