Kuleba demands Iran stop supplying Russia with drones used to kill civilians in Ukraine

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has demanded that Iran immediately stop supplying Russia with drones that are used to kill civilians and destroy critical infrastructure in Ukraine.

He said this on his Twitter account on October 28, after receiving a call from his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Ukrinform reports.

"Today [on October 28], I received a call from Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, during which I demanded Iran to immediately cease the flow of weapons to Russia used to kill civilians and destroy critical infrastructure in Ukraine," Kuleba wrote.

Earlier reports said that most members of the UN Security Council support an investigation by UN experts into Russia's use of Iranian drones against the civilian population and infrastructure in Ukraine.

Iran's transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia is in violation of Resolution 2231, which approved the nuclear deal between Iran and the United States, China, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Russia aimed at limiting Tehran's nuclear activities.

On October 14, Ukraine's Ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, sent a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and members of the UN Security Council, in which he expressed a request from the Ukrainian side to send experts to the country to inspect the use of drones.

In the letter, Kyslytsya noted that according to publicized information, "Mohajer- and Shahed-series unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) were transferred from Iran to Russia" in late August 2022, and "Ukraine assesses that this is likely part of Iran's plans to export hundreds of UAVs to Russia."

According to the diplomat, both models of drones fall under the category of prohibited weapons, as they are capable of flying 300 kilometers. In addition, both the Mohajer and Shahed drones are manufactured by Qods Aviation, which is subject to an international asset freeze under Security Council Resolution 2231.