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London says Russia is using Iranian drones in Ukraine campaign
Russia used Iranian drones as part of its massive shelling of Ukraine this week, according to according to British intelligence.
The British Ministry of Defence has been publishing daily updates on the course of the Russian war against Ukraine since it began at the end of February.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday (Oct 10) Russia had used Iran-made drones responding to Saturday’s attack on the Kerch bridge linking Crimea with the mainland.
“This morning is difficult,” he said. “We are dealing with terrorists. Dozens of missiles and Iranian Shaheds. They have two targets: energy facilities throughout the country…[and] people. There may be temporary power outages now, but there will never be an interruption in our confidence – our confidence in victory.”
But the unmanned Shahed aircraft are slow and fly very low, making them easy for air defences to hit, the Ministry of Defence in London said on Wednesday (Oct 12) in its daily intelligence update on the war.
However, there is a "realistic possibility" that Russia has had some success with using several drones at the same time, it said.
With Russian warplanes being of only limited effectiveness because of Ukraine's anti-aircraft defences, the Russians continue to lack an aerial attack weapon that offers a reliable, sustained and accurate strike capability. This is one of the most important gaps in the Russian war against Ukraine, according to the assessment.
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Russian troops have been using Iranian drones, including Shahed-136 kamikaze drones, since at least August, the ministry said, adding: "Despite a reported range of 2,500 kilometres, the Shahed-136 has only a small explosive payload."
Zelensky’s claims over Iranian drones were the latest from Ukrainian leaders. Last week Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv military administration, said six explosions 75km south of Kyiv in a military base at Bila Tserkva were caused by Iranian-made Shahed-136 delta-wing ‘kamikaze’ drones.
