Iranian drones strike Kiev as Tehran prepares a missile shipment to Russia

This Monday, once again, Kiev woke up to explosions. A week ago, in response to Ukrainian army advances and the attack on Crimea's Kerch Bridge, Russia launched missiles at the Ukrainian capital, causing dozens of deaths and injuries. This time, Russian troops have used Iranian kamikaze drones to attack Kiev and terrorise its population.  

The Iranian-made UAVs have caused several explosions in the centre of the Ukrainian capital, including in the Shevchenko neighbourhood, where the attacks have damaged several residential buildings, according to Kiev's mayor, Vitaliy Klichko. Authorities have also reported explosions near the city's main train station. 

The attacks began at 06:30 a.m. local time. According to Reuters, a piece of the suicide drones had the words "for Belgorod" written on it, a reference to the recent attacks on the Russian city. Moscow has accused Ukraine of such attacks, although Kiev has denied this. 

Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential cabinet, said these actions "show the desperation" of Russia, stressing that Ukraine needs more air defence systems "as soon as possible". Yermak reiterated President Volodimir Zelensky's request in a recent speech to the Council of Europe, where he urged NATO countries to supply advanced air defence systems. "We need to protect our skies from Russian terror," the Ukrainian leader said. 

This is not the first time Iranian-made drones have attacked Ukrainian territory. Last September, the national armed forces confirmed the first case of Iranian drones in the country after the US warned that Tehran was preparing to supply this type of weapon to Russia.

Since then, the Russian military has used Iranian drones, such as the Shahed-136 suicide drones or the Mohajer-6 - similar to Turkey's Bayraktar - in places such as Odessa, Mykolaivo, Dnipro and the capital Kiev itself. There have even been reports of Iranian military instructors in Ukraine teaching Russian troops how to use these drones. According to Kiev, Iranian military personnel have been in the occupied regions of Kherson and Crimea. 

Although Tehran has repeatedly denied delivering drones to Russia, US security officials - quoted by The Washington Post - have claimed that Iran is "secretly" planning to send not only drones, but also missiles, to the Russian military. This package could alleviate Moscow's "huge military losses" since the invasion began on 24 February.

According to officials from a US ally, the deal was reportedly finalised on 18 September at a meeting between the Iranians and Russians in Moscow. The two countries reportedly agreed on a first shipment of Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar missiles, capable of reaching targets at distances of 300 and 700 kilometres, respectively. The sources also added that, in addition to the missiles, Iran will send more drones. Specifically, "dozens" of Mohajer-6s and "a larger number" of Shahed-136s.

Iran has already provided Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar missiles to like-minded armed groups in the Middle East, such as the Houthis in Yemen. Analysts point out that the latest versions of these two types of weapons "are powerful and reasonably accurate at relatively short ranges", as Farzin Nadimi, an expert on Iranian weapons at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the US newspaper. For this reason, Nadimi warns that sending these missiles "could give the Russians more options and a lot of power".

US officials point out that Russia's missile arsenal has been "drastically reduced" over the course of the war in Ukraine. As a result, Moscow has turned to countries such as Iran and North Korea for such weaponry.

Morgan Muir, deputy director of National Intelligence - quoted by The Washington Post - claims that Moscow has lost "more than 6,000 pieces" since the start of the conflict and is spending ammunition at an "unsustainable" rate. 

Iran's direct assistance to Russia during the war has prompted the European Union to consider new sanctions against Tehran. The issue will be discussed at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, two diplomats told Reuters. "We will be looking for concrete evidence of Iran's involvement in the war," EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell told reporters at the start of the summit, in which the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, will participate by videoconference.

Denmark's Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, meanwhile, stressed that the EU should "react strongly" to the new air strikes on Kiev, the news agency reports. "Iranian drones are used to attack Kiev. This is an atrocity," he added.

His Luxembourg counterpart, Jean Asselborn, stressed to the press that sanctions against Iran will not be limited to blacklisting individuals if Tehran's involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine is proven. 

Also, in response to Iran sending Iranian drones and missiles to Ukraine, Israeli Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai has called on the government to provide military assistance to Ukraine in the face of new weapons from Iran - its main regional enemy - thus ending Israeli neutrality in the war.

"There is no longer any doubt where Israel should be in this bloody conflict. The time has come for Ukraine to receive military assistance, as provided by the US and NATO countries," Shai wrote on Twitter. At the moment, several reports have indicated that Israel is providing Kiev with information about Iranian suicide drones.

Former Russian president and deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has already warned Israel, saying the move "will destroy all interstate relations" between the countries. "Apparently Israel also intends to supply weapons to the Kiev regime. A very unwise step," he said on Telegram.