Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had spoken by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amiravdrakhian.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleva said in a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdrahian that he demanded that Tehran stop supplying Russia with weapons.
Ukrainian officials and Western allies have accused Iran of providing Russia with so-called “kamikaze” drones, which were recently brought to devastating effect by Moscow forces in attacks targeting Ukrainian infrastructure.
Iran vehemently denies sending weapons, including drones, to Russia.
“Today I received a call from Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdulahian,” Kureba tweeted late Friday.
“I called on Iran to immediately stop the flow of weapons to Russia that are used to kill civilians and destroy Ukraine’s critical infrastructure,” he wrote.
Today, I received a call from Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdulahian in which I told Iran of the weapons to Russia that will be used to kill civilians and destroy critical infrastructure in Ukraine. It requested that the flow be stopped immediately.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) October 28, 2022
Russia has launched a series of missile and drone strikes in recent weeks that have hit Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and forced blackouts not only in Kyiv but in cities and towns across the country.
According to Kyiv, Russia uses Iranian-made Shah-136 attack drones that cruise toward targets and explode on impact.
Iran’s IRNA (The Islamic Republic News Agency) said on Monday that Amira Budrahian said he was ready to speak with Ukraine about Tehran’s allegations that it had sold drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. rice field.
Amira Bdrahian has dismissed claims that he provided drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, IRNA reported.
“In the past, we took arms from Russia and gave them arms, but not during the war in Ukraine,” IRNA quoted the foreign minister as saying.
The minister also said he had informed the European Union’s head of foreign policy, Josep Borrell, of Iran’s willingness to participate in an investigation into the drones used in Ukraine.
“I have informed Josep Borrell that a team of Iranian and Ukrainian military experts is ready to assess claims regarding the use of Iranian-made drones in the war in Ukraine,” IRNA said. Quoted.
Armed drones have become a key weapon in Russia’s arsenal during the war in Ukraine, and have been used with devastating impact to target critical energy infrastructure in the past month, leading to widespread Ukrainian national This led to power shortages.
Ukraine said on Friday that its forces had shot down more than 300 Russian drones since mid-September, describing them as Shahed-136 models imported from Iran.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Inat told journalists in Kyiv that Russia had ordered an estimated 2,400 kamikaze drones, but the exact extent of Moscow’s stock of armed drones was unclear.
Also on Friday, Iranian citizens living in Ukraine staged protests in Kyiv, claiming Tehran’s government was supplying Russia with drones used in the war against Russia.
Iran strongly condemned calls by France, Germany and the United Kingdom to the United Nations to investigate whether Russia used drones of Iranian origin to attack Ukraine.
Nasser Kanani, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said last weekend that the three countries’ calls were “false and baseless” and “strongly rejected and condemned.”
In a letter signed by a UN special envoy, the three European nations said the use of drones violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which approved the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, urging Ukraine to respond to the UN investigation. supported the request.
The US has said the alleged export of “kamikaze drones” used in Ukraine could be a violation of the resolution and could trigger an automatic reinstatement of international sanctions against Iran.
