Britain has joined France and the US in condemning the supply of Iranian-made ‘kamikaze drones’ to Russia.
In the last 24 hours alone, drones targeted civilian areas in the center of Ukraine’s capital, killing five people, including a pregnant woman.
For a week, Kyiv has been rocked by coordinated strikes with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which were identified by officials as Iranian Shahed-136 weapons.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly said the drone attacks are the ‘desperate acts of a man losing a war on the battlefield’.
According to British, French and US officials, Iran’s supply of such weaponry would violate the country’s obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal.
White House spokesperson Karinne Jean-Pierre also accused Tehran of lying when it says Iranian drones are not being used by Russia in Ukraine.
Although a ban on Iranian arms exports expired in October 2020, the nuclear deal includes restrictions on missiles and related technologies that last until October 2023.
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office said the country’s supply of drones to Russia constituted a breach of UN security council Resolution 2231, the Guardian reported.
‘The UK has condemned Iran’s decision to supply drones and training to Russia,’ they said.
‘Iran supplying drones is inconsistent with UN security council resolution 2231 and is further evidence of the role Iran plays in undermining global security.’
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, in his Monday evening video address, said there had been more attacks.
He said: ‘Right now, there is a new Russian drone attack. There are (drones) that have been shot down.’
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs, urged the European Union to also impose sanctions on Iran.
‘I am probably the first foreign minister to address the EU Foreign Affairs Council from a bomb shelter because of the air raids siren,’ he wrote in a Twitter update.
‘I requested more air defense and a supply of ammo. Called on the EU to impose sanctions on Iran for providing Russia with drones. Ninth EU sanctions package on Russia must be strong.’
