Iranian cargo plane landed in Russia, probably delivered drones

A cargo plane, probably with kamikaze drones, was delivered from Iran to Russia. An Il-76 cargo plane from Iran that could carry Shaheed-136 drones has landed in Moscow, according to photos of the plane unloading at a Russian airport, the German “Bild” magazine reported.

The large-capacity Il-76 cargo plane took off from Tehran early Thursday morning and landed at the cargo terminal of Moscow’s Vnukovo airport around noon. The footage shows forklifts carrying pallets of large boxes from the aircraft to a warehouse.

The publication reports that the Il-76 belongs to the Iranian company Pouya Air, which is on the US sanctions list. The US Treasury Department claims that Pouya Airplanes are used by the Iranian authorities to deliver illegal cargo.

“In all likelihood, a new batch of Iranian Shaheed-136 kamikaze drones arrived in Moscow on Thursday,” said Bild military expert Julian Röpke.

New delivery refutes Iranian statement about ‘pre-war’ supplies

This week, for the first time, Iran has admitted it supplied drones to Russia, but they claim the delivery took place before Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine in February. Read in our article why its version is implausible.

Russia uses Iranian drones to strike energy infrastructure in Ukraine

Russia has recently been massively using kamikaze drones, which experts identify as Iranian Shaheed-136, for strikes on Ukraine, while Russian forces use them under the name Geran-2. Tehran has repeatedly denied the transfer of drones to Russia. The White House considers Iran’s denials to be false.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Iran’s provision of weapons to Russia for a full-scale war makes it an accomplice to aggression and war crimes on the territory of Ukraine. 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba submitted to the President a proposal to break off diplomatic relations with Iran due to Russia’s use of Iranian drones against Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Iran’s statement that a “small number” of Iranian drones were delivered to Russia a few months before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine a lie.