Russia Expands Use of Iranian Combat Drones in Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine—Ukraine shot down more than a dozen Iranian combat drones across the front lines this week as Russia expands the use of a foreign weapons system that Ukrainian commanders say has inflicted serious damage on their forces.
In his nightly address on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country’s antiaircraft forces had shot down Iranian drones in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region and the southern city of Odessa, including the nearby Pivdennyi port, used for exporting grain.
The Ukrainian Air Force identified them as Shahed-136 unmanned kamikaze drones, or loitering munitions, and Mohajer-6 drones that can carry missiles and be used for reconnaissance. It published a video showing one of the drones it shot out of the sky in Dnipropetrovsk.
The Iranian drones are relatively small and fly at a very low altitude, making it hard for Ukrainian air-defense systems to detect them. At least one of the drones made it past Ukrainian defenses, hitting the navy’s headquarters in Odessa on Friday. Ukraine’s southern military command said one civilian was killed and an administration building in the port area was destroyed.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-expands-use-of-iranian-combat-drones-in-ukraine/ar-AA12bSuC
