Ukraine asked for missiles to strike UAV production sites

In August, Ukraine handed over to its Western allies a secret report on European components in Russian and Iranian drones that are used by Russian troops for strikes on Ukrainian territory, and allegedly asked them to supply weapons to hit their production sites in Iran and Syria. This was reported by the British newspaper The Guardian on Wednesday, which got acquainted with the 47-page document handed over by Ukraine to the G7 countries.

According to the newspaper, the report specifically stated that more than 50 Western-made electronic components were found in Iranian Shahed drones, the production of which is now partially localized in Russia. Basically, these are commercial-level electronics, and the supply of such components is almost not controlled, the report states.

The report names five European companies producing the relevant components, including those from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland. We are also talking about companies with headquarters in the USA, Canada and Japan. Components arrive in Iran through third countries, such as Turkey, India, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Costa Rica.

The authors of the report suggested that the allies consider “launching missile strikes on factories producing these UAVs in Iran, Syria, as well as on a potential assembly site in the Russian Federation.” At the same time, it is noted that such strikes are ready to be carried out by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, if they receive the necessary weapons for this. How this could be implemented, given the distance between Ukraine and Iran, is not specified. In Kyiv, the publication has not yet been commented on.

Shock drones “Shakhed”, which are designated in Russia as “Geran-2”, began to be used at the front at the end of last year. Iran denied their deliveries, but later announced that it had delivered a small batch of them to Russia until February 24, 2022. This year, the assembly of drones was established in the city of Elabuga (Tatarstan). According to available data, more than 600 such drones were used for strikes on Ukraine in the last three months alone.