Zelensky: Moscow ordered 2000 drones from Iran
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022.
photo: AP/ Genya Savilov
kurdsatnews
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated that Russia is buying weapons from Iran.
He said in statements today, Monday, that Moscow had requested 2,000 unmanned aircraft from Tehran, per AFP.
Zelensky also explained that this number was derived from intelligence, saying, "Intelligence estimates indicate that Russian forces have ordered about two thousand Iranian suicide drones."
He criticized Israel's neutrality regarding this "Russian-Iranian alliance" in Ukraine after it refused to provide his country with advanced anti-aircraft systems.
The Ukrainian army announced in October 2022 that a series of Russian attacks on dozens of cities, including Kyiv, was carried out by Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones launched from Belarus and Crimea.
Previously Moscow denied using Iranian drones, stressing that it had sufficient offensive capabilities. Mirroring Moscow, the Iranian foreign minister said that Iran has not supplied Moscow with weapons and asked Kyiv to present its evidence regarding Iranian-made drones in Ukraine.
Despite the Russian and Iranian denials, this issue of drones prompted the United States, Britain, and the European Union to impose new sanctions on Iranian officials and entities last week.
The New York Times reported that Iranian military advisors in Crimea were dispatched to train Russians on using Iranian drones.
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