Russia is set to receive further weapons deliveries from Iran, as Tehran works to “solidify” the relationship between the two countries, according to a new assessment.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, met his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in Moscow on Wednesday. The pair likely discussed the Russian use of Iranian weapons in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War think tank said on Wednesday.
Russian forces have made considerable use of Iranian-made Shahed-131 and -136 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Ukraine. Tehran denied providing the drones to Russia, but then said it had sent a “small number of drones months before the Ukraine war.”
Iran is looking to establish “more equal” status with Russia, and will “likely increase weapons transfers to Russia in pursuit of this goal,” the US-based ISW said.
Earlier in March, Iran said Moscow and Russia had reached a deal to buy Su-35 fighter jets from Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei in July 2022, reaffirming links between Moscow and Tehran.
Ukraine’s National Resistance Center, created by the country’s military, said on Wednesday that newly reinstated flights from Tehran to Moscow likely included Shahed “suicide” drones. Members of the Wagner mercenary group, which is heavily involved in Ukraine, have started training on using the Shahed-131 drones, the center said, although this was not confirmed by the ISW.
Ukraine’s General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on Tuesday that 14 out of 15 Shahed-136 drones launched at Ukrainian targets had been shot down overnight.
The British Defense Ministry said on Sunday that since the start of the month of March, Moscow’s forces had likely launched at least 71 Shahed attacks in Ukraine.
“Regular resupplies” of limited numbers of drones were likely reaching Russia, the ministry said on Twitter, after a pause in drone attacks through late February.
Earlier this year, Ukrainian officials and Western military analysts suggested that Moscow was running low in stocks of Shahed drones. On January 6, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet that Russia had used up 88 percent of its supply of Shahed drones.
The drones had come to be a common sight across Ukraine, carrying warheads that shatter or explode as the UAVs reach their target. The drones are considerably cheaper than using cruise missiles, and can be difficult for Ukrainian air defenses to detect on approach.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian and Iranian foreign ministries for comment.
Russia is set to receive further weapons deliveries from Iran, as Tehran works to “solidify” the relationship between the two countries, according to a new assessment.
