Iran plans to provide Russia with missiles but wants to limit their range due to a potential international backlash, Axios reported, citing four senior Israeli officials.
Russia has been using Iranian-made kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine since September, launching attacks against civilians and destroying energy facilities across the country.
Tehran initially denied supplying Moscow with drones but later admitted delivering them, claiming it happened before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. There is overwhelming evidence that Iran continued supplying drones during the invasion.
According to the Axios report, the Western pressure “has not fully deterred Tehran from planning to send the missiles to Russia, and it intends to go ahead with the deliveries soon.”
“But, in an effort to mitigate the international fallout and not violate the Security Council resolution, Iran plans to give Russia only missiles with a range of fewer than 300 kilometers and modify other missiles so they stay within the parameters of the resolution,” the Israeli officials said, as quoted by Axios.
The same day, the European Union added four individuals to the list of sanctions against Iran, as well as four entities “for their role in the development and delivery of UAVs used by Russia in its war against Ukraine.”
The U.K. Defense Ministry said on Dec. 10 that it expects Iran’s support for the Russian military to grow in the coming months. The ministry called Tehran “one of Moscow’s top military backers” worldwide and said that Russia is attempting to obtain more weapons from Iran, “including hundreds of ballistic missiles.”
“In return, Russia is highly likely offering Iran an unprecedented level of military and technical support that is transforming their defense relationship... If Russia succeeds in bringing a large number of Iranian ballistic missiles into service, it will likely use them to continue and expand its campaign of strikes against Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure,” the U.K. Defense Ministry said.
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Wednesday, January 7
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Russia appealed to the U.S. to halt the pursuit and reportedly dispatched a submarine and other vessels to escort the tanker before it was boarded by U.S. forces.
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President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Cyprus to meet his Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides, and top EU officials, presidential spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov said on Jan. 7.
Rustem Umerov said the talks centered on the peace framework and "further contacts at the leaders' level involving Ukraine, European partners, and the United States."
Authorities in Russia's Kamchatka Krai announced on Jan. 7 that they had restricted mobile internet access, citing the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks — despite the region being located over 9,000 kilometers from Ukraine's border.
The Kyiv Independent’s Jared Goyette speaks with foreign policy analyst Ivan Fechko about Venezuela’s political crisis following the U.S. attack and kidnapping of dictator Nicolás Maduro — and why it marks a major strategic setback for Russia in Latin America and globally.
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A fire broke out at the Stary Oskol oil depot in Russia's Belgorod Oblast after it was hit by Ukrainian drones, Governor Vyacheslov Gladkov said. "As a result of the detonation, several tanks caught fire on the site," he claimed.
The French president nevertheless stressed that "in the short term, we must continue to support Ukraine in its defense efforts."
The interceptor features advanced hit-to-kill technology, enabling it to destroy high-speed missiles, such as Russia's Kinzhal and Zircon, with precision.
In a private message sent late December, Leonid Volkov welcomed the news of the apparent death of Denis Kapustin, the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a right-wing militia made up of ethnic Russians fighting on Ukraine's side. It was later revealed that Kapustin was alive and his death was faked by Ukraine.
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Despite leading several of Ukraine's most consequential operations against Russia, Maliuk's tenure has been marked by controversy, particularly over his involvement in actions targeting anti-corruption bodies.
