Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi accuses Iran of lying about sending a limited number of drones to Russia, writes Reuters.

According to him, Kyiv forces shot down at least 10 Iranian drones a day.

On Saturday, Iran admitted for the first time that it had supplied drones to Moscow, but said they were sent to the war in Ukraine, where Russia has used drones to target power plants and civilian infrastructure.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said a “small number” of drones were delivered to Russia months before Moscow’s forces invaded Ukraine on February 24.

In Iran’s most detailed response yet on the drones, Amirabdollahian denied that Tehran continues to supply drones to Moscow.

“This noise made by some Western countries that Iran is supplying missiles and drones to Russia to help in the war in Ukraine – the missile part is completely wrong,” the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.

“The drone part is true”

“Drones are real, and we supplied Russia with a small number of drones a few months before the war in Ukraine,” he said.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has reported an increase in drone attacks on civilian infrastructure, including power plants and dams, using Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones.

Russia denies using Iranian drones to attack Ukraine.

Last month, two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats told Reuters that Iran had promised to supply Russia with surface-to-surface missiles in addition to additional drones.

Also last month, the EU agreed to new sanctions against Iran over the supply of drones to Russia, and the UK imposed sanctions on three Iranian military personnel and a defense equipment manufacturer for supplying Russia with drones to attack civilian and military targets in Ukraine.

Literature:

• Stoltenberg confirmed that Iran wants to send ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine
• What else does Iran plan to send to Russia, besides kamikaze drones
• We did not give Russia military drones, Iran calmly claims