russia may have started new batch of Iranian drones - UK intelligence

Photo: mil.in.ua

Ksenia Omelchenko

British intelligence believes that russia could have begun using Iranian drones obtained from a new batch against Ukraine.

This is stated in an intelligence review of the British Ministry of Defense on Friday.

For the first time in the last three weeks, there have been reports of attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles provided by Iran. Intelligence emphasizes that this data remains to be verified, but it is likely that russia has exhausted its last stockpile of several hundred Shahed-131s and 136s and has now received a replenishment.

On 6 December 2022, the Ukrainian General Staff reported the downing of 17 UAVs, including 14 Shahed-136. On 7 December 2022, Ukrainian officials said the use of UAVs provided by Iran against the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

"The last previously reported shooting down of Iranian Shahed-136s in Ukraine was on 17 November 2022. If verified, it is likely that Russia has recommenced attacks with newly delivered OWA UAV systems," the summary says.

Earlier it was reported that russia has again ordered hundreds more drones and ballistic missiles from Iran.

It is still unclear how exactly russia can thank the Tehran leadership for military assistance. However, according to the estimates of diplomatic circles, it will most likely not be about money but military aid.

Reference

In August of this year, russia received a large batch of drones from Iran, which later received the russian name "Geran."

Almost immediately, the russians began to actively use these kamikaze drones for intensive attacks on Ukraine's military and civilian infrastructure.

Also, the American publication WP reported citing Western special services about the agreements between Tehran and Moscow regarding the transfer of technologies for manufacturing Iranian drones to the russians.

In addition, the media recently reported that the Iranian leadership asked russia to help suppress the wave of protests in Iran, which have not subsided since September.