Iranian kamikaze drones purchased by Russia cause serious damage, hitting Ukrainian military equipment. The Wall Street Journal writes about it. Over the past week, Shahed-136 delta-winged drones, repainted and renamed Geranium-2, have been increasingly appearing over Ukrainian armored and artillery positions in the northeast of the Kharkiv region, according to the publication.
Colonel Rodion Kulagin, commander of the artillery of the 92nd motorized rifle division of Ukraine, told this publication. Only in the area where his brigade is deployed, Iranian drones, which usually fly in pairs and then crash into their targets, destroyed two 152-mm self-propelled howitzers, two 122-mm self-propelled howitzers, as well as two armored personnel carriers. According to Kulagin, the Russian military uses drones in areas where they do not have a sufficient advantage in artillery.
Kulagin noted that Iranian drones are relatively small and fly at very low altitudes, making them difficult for Ukrainian air defense systems to detect. He also expressed hope that the US and its allies could provide Ukraine with better anti-drone technology or intervene to disrupt Iranian drone shipments to Russia.
In July, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned that Russian defense officials were visiting Iran, preparing to buy up to several hundred Iranian drones at short notice. At the same time, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian denied this information and said that Tehran is against the war with Ukraine.
Representatives of Russia visited the central airfield of Iran in the summer of 2022 at least twice. The purpose of the visit is precisely to inspect combat drones, CNN reported , citing satellite images. In June and early July, Iran showed Russia the operation of the Shahed-191 and Shahed-129 drones. The demonstration was held at the Kashan airfield south of Tehran.
At the end of August, The Washington Post reported that Iran sent the first batch of UAVs to the Russian Federation, however, when using them, the Russian army had many technical difficulties, some of the drones were out of order. According to the publication, Tehran also supplied Moscow with Mohajer-6 drones capable of carrying ammunition for radar attacks, artillery and other military targets. A government security official said that "there are a few bugs in the system", which is why "the Russians are unhappy".
On Sept. 8, the US Treasury Department said it had sanctioned Iranian company Safiran Airport Services for coordinating Russian military flights that brought Iranian drones and related equipment to Russia, as well as Iranian drone companies Paravar Pars, DAMA and Baharestan Kish.