Russia has likely “exhausted its previous stock of several hundred Shahed-131s and 136s and has now received a resupply” as Ukraine’s General Staff reported attacks by Iranian drones for the first time in three weeks on Dec. 6, according to the U.K Defense Ministry.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine downed 14 Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drones overnight on Dec. 7, the General Staff said in its daily update. Russian forces used the drones to attack Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, according to local governors.
The previous Russian attempts of attacks with Iranian kamikaze drones in Ukraine happened on Nov. 17.
The Washington Post reported on Nov. 19, citing intelligence, that Iran and Russia have “quietly” reached an agreement to assemble “hundreds of unmanned weaponized aircraft” on Russian territory.
Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, also said that Russia was preparing for the production of Iranian kamikaze drones.
Russia has been using Iranian-made kamikaze drones in Ukraine since September, launching attacks against civilians and energy facilities across the country.
