russia likely receiving regular supply of Iranian-made kamikaze drones – British intelligence
British intelligence has analyzed the situation concerning the use of Iranian Shahed drones by the russian federation.
According to the intelligence review of the British Ministry of Defense, as of March 26, since the beginning of March 2023, russia has probably launched at least 71 Iranian-developed Shahed UAVs at targets in Ukraine.
It should be noted that these attacks took place after a two-week pause at the end of February 2023. Therefore, British intelligence officers believe that russia has probably begun to receive a regular supply of a small number of Shahed UAVs.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 26 March 2023.
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— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 26, 2023
British intelligence recalled that the russian federation is apparently launching Shahed drones from two directions:
- from the Krasnodar Territory in the east,
- from the Bryansk region in the northeast.
This allows the aggressor country to flexibly strike a wide sector of Ukraine and reduce the flight time to targets in the north of Ukraine. It cannot be ruled out that this is a further attempt by russia to disperse Ukrainian air defenses.
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It should be noted that on March 9, the US introduced sanctions against companies from China that supplied Iran with parts for Shahed UAVs.
Meanwhile, it was reported in the media that Iran used boats and a state airline to transport Shaheds to russia.
