Ukraine said it first noticed Russia using weapons supplied by Iran in September. Since then, Russia has successfully used them to target Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure, causing severe power shortages. Russia’s own weapons stockpile has been severely depleted by months of fighting, Western and Ukrainian intelligence officials say, leaving it to seek help from allies such as Iran. In addition to more drones, unnamed Western officials told CNN that Russia planned to buy Iranian ballistic missiles. The same officials said Iran had sent 450 drones to Russia and would send another 1,000 weapons units, including the expected missiles. Ukrainian experts believe that Russian experts were involved in the construction of the Iranian drones. Photo: Isobel Koshiw/The Guardian A spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force said that despite recent deliveries of air defense systems by its allies, Ukraine still lacks the necessary equipment to defend itself against Iranian missiles. In a large room somewhere in Kyiv, Ukrainian military intelligence dismantled occupied Iranian drones. The build date on the propeller of Mohajer-6, an Iranian spy drone, is February this year. As the propeller is only one of several components required to build the drone, the February date suggests the drone would have been procured – if not built – after the invasion, according to Vasyl, a spokesman for the US military’s intelligence service. Ukrainian, who cannot give his last name for security reasons. Vasil, who was involved in the disassembly of the drones, said that the technical quality of the drones was surprisingly good. “We believe Russian experts were involved, but that’s just a theory,” he said, commenting on how Iran was able to develop the drones despite being under sanctions for decades. “Either the Iranians went [to Russia] or they have Russian experts working there.” Although the Mohajer-6 drone has no external markings to indicate it is Iranian-made, parts of the drone’s interior shown to the Guardian appeared to be marked in Farsi. The Mohajer-6 can release missiles and is intended to be used multiple times. The other two drones analyzed are what are known as ‘kamikaze’ drones, as they explode and destroy themselves on impact. They had no Iranian markings, but like the Mohajers, they have been displayed by Iran at many weapons shows, Vasil said. The February date on the propeller indicates that the drone would have been delivered – if not built – after the invasion. Photo: Isobel Koshiw/The Guardian Vasil said many components used to build the drones were made by Western companies. But the components were generic and not on the non-proliferation list, intended to control the sale of components that can be used by the militaries of sanctioned regimes such as Iran. Interestingly, Vasyl said, Iran had succeeded in making copies of many components originally produced in the West, such as an exact copy of a well-known German engine. Iranian weapons have played a key role in Russia’s strategy to disable Ukraine by cutting off its energy reserves in the rear – as it tries to regain momentum after several battlefield defeats. Since early October, Iranian technology has helped damage more than 30 percent of Ukraine’s energy system, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Ukrainian authorities have introduced daily blackouts to stabilize the grid, but predict that if Russia continues to attack, there could be a total blackout in some parts this winter amid sub-zero temperatures. Iran initially denied reports that it had given Russia drones. But after two months, his foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, admitted that Iran had supplied Russia with a small number of drones, but added that Iran would not be indifferent if it turned out they were being used in Ukraine. The US rejected Abdollahian’s admissions, saying Iran thought it “could covertly help escape the consequences”. Following the use of the first barrage of drones supplied to Iran by Russia, Ukraine downgraded diplomatic relations with Iran by revoking the accreditation of Iran’s ambassador to Ukraine. Ukraine’s Middle East and North Africa envoy Maxim Shubh told ZN Ukraine that cutting diplomatic ties was on the agenda and Zelensky would make a decision in the coming weeks. Iranian drones disassembled on a table in Kyiv. Photo: Isobel Koshiw/The Guardian Zelensky said on Sunday that if Iran did not supply weapons to Russia, the world “would now be closer to peace”. Rob Lee, a military expert at the US-based Institute for Foreign Policy Research, said: “The Russians are using more effective cruise munitions – recently some Iranian, some Russian – and if they get the surface-to-air missile from Iran, it could also be important. A lot of it has to do with trying to predict the level of external support for Ukraine and Russia, and that’s difficult.” Confirmation, albeit limited, that Iran had supplied Russia over Ukraine sparked a row in Iran this week, as some raised concerns about the country’s close ties to Moscow. Some have argued that Iran should have condemned the war in Ukraine, while other Iranians point to Zelensky’s ties to Israel as a reason to support Russia’s war. On Wednesday, during a visit to Tehran by Russian security chief Nikolai Patrushev, his counterpart Ali Shamkhani called for dialogue to end the war and offered to play a role in resolving the conflict, AFP reported.
