A senior Ukrainian official issues a warning on Monday over reports that Iran has supplied short-range ballistic missiles to Moscow.
Andrii Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, took to social media network Telegram, stating that Ukraine should be permitted to target missile storage facilities within Russia following reports that Iran had sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
“In response to the supply of ballistic missiles to Russia, Ukraine must be allowed to destroy warehouses storing these missiles with Western weapons in order to avoid terror,” Yermak said, but did not specify which country was supplying the missiles.
Yermak’s comments come after U.S. intelligence confirmed that Iran sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not offer any details about how many weapons have been delivered or when the transfers may have occurred.
Additionally, the White House declined to confirm the weapons transfer, but pointed towards its concern that Iran is deepening its support of Russia.
“Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and lead to the killing of more Ukrainian civilians,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said. “This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilizing influence reaches beyond the Middle East and around the world.”
Newsweek reached out to the White House, Ukraine Defense Ministry and the Russia Defense Ministry via email for comment.
Ukrainian air defense intercepts a Shahed drone midair during a Russia aerial attack on the capital in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. Amid the Russian-Ukraine war a senior Ukrainian official on Monday is issuing a warning over reports that Iran has supplied short-range ballistic missiles to Moscow.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Many Western nations supporting Ukraine have been cautious about escalating the conflict by enabling Ukraine to strike Russian soil.
According to the United Nations, Russia has subjected Ukraine to repeated long-range missile and drone bombardments that have killed more than 10,000 civilians since the start of the war in February 2022.
Meanwhile, the use of Iranian-made weapons by Russia is not new. Since 2022, Moscow has deployed Iranian Shahed drones in attacks on Ukrainian targets.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday denied the recent reports of the Iranian missiles stating that “this kind of information is not true every time.”
He added: “Iran is our important partner. We are developing our trade and economic relations. We are developing our cooperation and dialogue in all possible areas, including the most sensitive ones, and will continue to do so in the interests of the peoples of our two countries.”
Iran has also denied supplying missiles to Russia. Nasser Kanaani, a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, called the accusations “politically motivated.”
“We strongly reject allegations about Iran’s role in sending weapons to one side of the war and we assess these allegations as politically motivated by some parties,” Kanaani said.
Despite these denials, Ukraine remains firm in its stance. Its foreign ministry issued a stern warning over the weekend, calling on Iran to stop supporting Russia’s war efforts.
“Iran must completely and definitively stop providing weapons to Russia in order to prove with actions, not words, the sincerity of its political leadership’s statements about noninvolvement in fueling the Russian war machine of death,” a statement said.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
