Yemen's Houthi militants have been using Russian satellite data to attack ships in the Red Sea with drones and missiles, the Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 24, citing a person familiar with the matter and two unnamed European defense officials.
The Houthis are an Iran-backed militant group based in Yemen. Following Israel's invasion of Gaza in 2023, the Houthis began launching attacks against Western shipping vessels in the Red Sea.
Russian targeting data helped the Houthis expand their strikes, the sources told the WSJ. The data was reportedly handed over through Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Such assistance shows how much Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to undermine the Western economic and political order, the WSJ wrote. According to experts, Russia is trying to foment instability from the Middle East to Asia to cause problems for the U.S.
The WSJ reported in early October that infamous Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was released in a prisoner swap between Russia and the U.S. in 2022, was suspected of preparing a small arms deal with Houthi militants.
Iran, one of Russia's key allies, was also brokering secret negotiations between Moscow and Yemen's Houthis to transfer Yakhont supersonic anti-ship missiles, Reuters reported in late September, citing seven unnamed sources.
Kateryna Hodunova
(Updated: )
