Ukraine’s military has killed Iranian instructors training Russian forces to operate kamikaze drones in occupied Crimea, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksii Danilov told the Guardian.
Danilov warned that further Iranian military presence in Ukrainian territory would also be targeted.
“They were on our territory,” he said. “We didn’t invite them here, and if they collaborate with terrorists and participate in the destruction of our nation, we must kill them.”
Danilov did not specify how many Iranians were killed in Crimea but said they were helping to train Russian troops to use the Iranian-made Shahed-136 armed drones.
“The Iranians keep insisting that they are not suppliers of weapons to the Russian Federation, but we need confirmation,” Danilov said.
On Oct. 21, Israeli radio station KAN reported, citing an unnamed Ukrainian source, that Ukraine’s military has killed 10 Iranian instructors in occupied parts of Kherson Oblast and Crimea.
Iranian and Ukrainian experts have met to discuss Russia’s use of Iranian drones, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko told CNN on Nov. 22.
After initially denying the accusations, Tehran admitted on Nov. 5 to supplying Russia with drones, although Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian claimed it was before Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Russia has been using Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drones against Ukraine since September, launching waves of attacks that killed civilians and destroyed energy facilities nationwide.
(Updated: )
