Ukraine FM tells Iran: Stop sending weapons to Russia

Kyiv: Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said he demanded Tehran stop providing Russia with weapons in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian.
Ukrainian officials and their Western allies have accused Iran of providing so-called “kamikaze” drones to Russia, which have recently been used to devastating effect by Moscow’s forces in strikes aimed at Ukrainian infrastructure, BBC reported.
Iran has strenuously denied that it has sent any weaponry, including drones, to Russia.
“Today, I received a call from Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian,” Kuleba wrote in a tweet late on Friday.
“I demanded Iran to immediately cease the flow of weapons to Russia used to kill civilians and destroy critical infrastructure in Ukraine,” he was quoted as saying.
Russia has unleashed a wave of missile and drone strikes in recent weeks, hitting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and forcing power cuts in Kyiv as well as cities and towns across the country.
Kyiv says Russia has used Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drones, which cruise towards their target and explode on impact.
Amirabdollahian said on Monday that he was ready to speak with Ukraine over claims that Tehran had sold drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, the Iranian State’s IRNA (The Islamic Republic News Agency) reported.
Amirabdollahian dismissed the allegations of providing drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, IRNA reported.
“In the past we have taken weapons from Russia and given it weapons as well, but not during the Ukraine war,” IRNA quoted the foreign minister as having said.
Armed drones have become a key weapon in Russia’s arsenal during its war in Ukraine and have been used with devastating effects in the past month to target crucial energy infrastructure, leading to nationwide power shortages in Ukraine.
Ukraine said on Friday that its forces had since mid-September shot down more than 300 Russian drones, which it described as Shahed-136 models imported from Iran. (UNI)