Iranian-Made Drones Attack Kyiv As US Set To Supply Patriots
Kyiv's air defense systems shot down 10 Iranian-made drones Wednesday, while the United States is closer to sending its Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
Kyiv's air defense systems shot down 10 Iranian-made drones Wednesday, while the United States is closer to sending its Patriot air defense system to Ukraine.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that air-defense systems shot down 10 Iranian-made Shahed drones and that there were explosions in the central Shevchenkivskyi district.
The Kyiv administration said that according to preliminary information, two administrative buildings in Shevchenkivskyi were damaged and information about potential casualties was being clarified.
The United States warned about Iran planning to deliver Shahed Kamikaze drones to Russia in July, something Iran has repeatedly denied, only conceding that it gave “some drones” to Russia before the Ukraine war began.
Russia began using the Iranian drones mostly against civilian targets in early October, with hundreds launched so far, but most shot down before reaching their targets.
Washington could announce a decision as soon as Thursday on providing the Patriot, two officials told Reuters on Tuesday. The Patriot is considered one of the most advanced U.S. air defense systems and is usually in short supply, with allies around the world vying for it.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned NATO against equipping Kyiv with Patriot missile defenses, and it is likely the Kremlin will view the move as an escalation.
But there have been Western reports in the past weeks of possible Iranian missile deliveries to Russia as its arsenal is running out due to extensive use against Ukrainian infrastructure targets that are now well defended with multiple systems, but not full proof.
The Patriot system would help Ukraine defend against waves of Russian missile and drone attacks that have pounded the country's energy infrastructure.
The United States and its European allies have also imposed rounds of sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities for their involvement in supplying drones to Russia. The latest instance of such sanctions was announced by the United Kingdom on Tuesday.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said UK sanctions were “taking the wheels off the Russian war machine.” A press release referred to “information” released by the US December 9 - apparently a statement by White House Security spokesman John Kirby - showing Iran had become “one of Russia’s top military backers.”
Gaining Patriot air defense capability would be "very, very significant" for the Kyiv government, said Alexander Vindman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and onetime leader of Ukraine policy at the White House.
"These are going to be quite capable of dealing with a lot of different challenges the Ukrainians have, especially if the Russians bring in short-range ballistic missiles" from Iran.
Kyiv held high-level military talks on Tuesday with Washington, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office said. The United States has given Ukraine $19.3 billion in military assistance since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24.
One of the US officials said Ukrainian forces would likely be trained in Germany before the Patriot equipment was delivered. Vindman said the training could take several months.
The Pentagon says Russia's recent surge in missile strikes is partly designed to exhaust Ukraine's supplies of air defenses so it can dominate the skies above the country.
For that reason, the United States and its allies have been delivering more air defenses to Kyiv, everything from Soviet-era systems to more modern, Western ones. Washington has provided NASAMS air defense systems that the Pentagon says have flawlessly intercepted Russian missiles in Ukraine.
With reporting by Reuters
The Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar, its director Yousef Aboutalebi were designated along with Brigadier General Abdollah Meehrabi, a military research head, and Afshin Khajeh Fard, head of Iran’s Aviations Industries Organization. A press release from the British foreign office cited James Cleverly, the foreign minister, saying that MADO was “the company responsible for manufacturing engines for the drones…used by Russia in Ukraine.”
Any assets held in the United Kingdom by those sanctioned can now be seized. The individuals will not be permitted to enter the UK, and no British citizen may transfer money to them.
The UK also designated 12 Russian military commanders, “including [those leading] units implicated in attacks on Ukrainian cities.” The press release noted that “directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects is a serious violation of international law – those responsible must be held to account.”
This followed the European Union Monday designating four individuals, including the head of Iran’s air force, over alleged drone supplies, as well four military contractors or design companies. This came in addition to two Iranian military commanders in November. Both the UK and the EU say the sanctions are intended to change the behavior of those sanctioned.
Cleverly said UK sanctions were “taking the wheels off the Russian war machine.” The press release referred to “information” released by the US December 9 - apparently a statement by White House Security spokesman John Kirby - showing Iran had become “one of Russia’s top military backers.”
Kirby spoke mainly then of US “concern” that Russia “intended to provide Iran with advanced military components,” while senior US officials were widely quoted that Russia was ready to send Sukhoi SU-35 fighter jets to Iran, which has been unable to acquire modern fighters since the 1990s.
In other anonymous briefings, the Washington Post quoted a US “military official” December 9 that Russia had Iranian ballistic missiles, and that Tehran would receive “up to $1 billion” and “other, still unknown inducements” for setting up drone productions inside Russia. Kirby was one of two US officials saying on-the-record the same week that the US had no evidence of Iran transferring missiles to Russia.
‘Desperate need’
The UK press release explaining its latest sanctions reiterated that Iran sending “hundreds of drones to Russia” violated “its international legal obligations,” presumably referring to the US and UK argument this would violate a clause in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, an agreement the US left in 2018 imposing ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions on Iran to slash its international trade.
Cleverly said the “Iranian regime” was “isolated internationally” due to “brutal repression of its own people” and a “threat it poses in the Middle East” and was therefore “in desperate need of support from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”
Former British prime minister Boris Johnson called this week in the Wall Street Journal for Nato to give Ukraine longer-range missiles including ATACMS (surface-to-surface missiles with a 300km range), but he also suggested the war could end with Russian retaining regions held before February 24. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rules this out, with the US saying publicly it’s up to him to decide.
UK and US officials maintain their approach - arming Ukraine but not sending the most offensive weapons Zelenskyy demands – is slowly degrading Russian capacities. British military aid to Ukraine has reached £2.3 billion ($2.84 billion) and US aid $20 billion. The EU agreed Monday €2 billion ($2.1 million) in addition to the €2 billion already sent.
“Defence Intelligence reports suggest that Russian armed forces are struggling to replenish their missile reserves,” Cleverly said, according to the British press release, “while they are increasingly forced to rely on second rate [sic] drones supplied by Iran to keep up their inhumane bombardments of the Ukrainian people.”