Ukraine claims to have destroyed an Iranian-made drone in Kharkov oblast

The Ukrainian Armed Forces said Tuesday that “with a high degree of probability” they have destroyed an Iranian-made drone in the vicinity of the town of Kupiansk, located in the Kharkov region (east), following accusations against Russia for the acquisition of this type of weaponry in the framework of the conflict.

“With a high degree of probability, it can be said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have for the first time destroyed an Iranian offensive unmanned vehicle in the vicinity of Kupiansk,” the Strategic Communications Department of the Armed Forces said through a message on its official Telegram account.

“An analysis of the appearance of the drone’s wing elements makes it possible to state with confidence that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have destroyed an Iranian drone for the first time. We are talking about a kamikaze drone ‘Shahed-136’,” he detailed.

The United States announced last week the imposition of sanctions against a transportation service provider for delivering Iranian drones to Russia to support the invasion of Ukraine and three other companies and an Iranian citizen involved in the research, development, production and sale of such devices to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

In the aftermath, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized that “Russia’s military suffers severe supply problems in Ukraine, in part because of sanctions and export controls, which forces Russia to turn to unreliable countries like Iran for supply and equipment.”