Ukraine’s Air Force reports shooting down 4 Iranian-made drones

Ukraine’s Air Force reported that anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Command “South” destroyed four Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drones near Odesa on Sept. 26. 

Earlier today, Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said Russia is trying to save money by replacing high-precision missiles with Iranian drones. According to Ihnat, Iran could have sold "several hundred" kamikaze drones to Russia.

On Sept. 23, Russia used Iranian Shahed-136 drones for the first time in Ukraine to attack Odesa from the sea, killing two people and injuring two. 

Ukraine responded the next day by depriving the Iranian ambassador to Ukraine of his accreditation and reducing the number of diplomatic staff of the Iranian embassy in Kyiv.  

In July, the White House reported that Russia was looking to buy hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles from Iran. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said at that time that Iran was also planning to train Russians in using the drones.