The Ministry of Defense of Great Britain believes that Russia has replenished the supply of Iranian “kamikaze” drones with which it terrorizes Ukraine.

Image of the Shahed 136 drone, which the Russians used to attack targets in UkrainePhoto: Oleksandr Gusev / Zuma Press / Profimedia

For the first time in three weeks, Iran announced drone strikes. These developments remain to be verified, but it is likely that Russia has exhausted its previous stockpile of several hundred Shahed-131s and 136s and has now received a replenishment, the UK Ministry of Defense estimated on Friday morning.

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian General Staff announced the downing of 17 drones, including 14 Shahed-136. On Wednesday, Ukrainian officials reported the use of Iranian-provided drones targeting the Zaporizhia and Dnipro regions.

The last downed Iranian Shahed-136 drones in Ukraine took place on November 17, 2022.

British military intelligence says that, if confirmed, Russia is likely to have resumed attacks with newly deployed drones.

The Air Force of Ukraine announced on Wednesday that the Russian army has ordered 1,700 Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones.

Iran denied for more than two months that it had sold drones to Russia, despite using them to target power plants and civilian infrastructure, but in early November said it had delivered a small number of drones before the start of the war, explaining that. rejected by the USA and Ukraine.