Ukraine – Iran accusations over Iranian drones supply to Russia

Iran has cynically accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of allegedly “anti-Iranian propaganda.” It came after the President of Ukraine’s address to the people of Iran.

Mr Zelenskyy recalled the war crimes committed against Ukrainian people by the aggressor state – Russia – with the help of Iranian-made Shahed attack drones and asked why Iranians should be accomplices in Russian terror.

Iran accused Zelenskyy of “anti-Iranian propaganda”

In response, Tehran accused Zelenskyy of allegedly “anti-Iranian propaganda” in his call for Iran to stop supplying drones to Russia. The Foreign Ministry made such a statement.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry generally called the Ukrainian leader’s statements “false.”

“The Ukrainian president’s repeat of delusional claims against the Islamic Republic of Iran is in line with the anti-Iranian propaganda and media war aimed at attracting as many arms and financial aid as possible from Western countries,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani commented in a statement aired by Iranian media, Reuters reported.

What exactly did Volodymyr Zelenskyy say to Iranians?

During his evening address on May 24, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Russians had already used about 1160 Shahed drones against Ukraine. Ukrainian air defences managed to shoot down almost 900.

Given that such terror strikes continue regularly, the Ukrainian President addressed the people of Iran directly – to society, every Iranian family, and those who can influence government decisions in Iran.

“A simple question: why do you want to be accomplices in Russian terror? Why are you on the side of an evil state? The world sees what is happening, and you all in Iran see it. Support for evil cannot be denied. Even though we have learned to shoot down most of the kamikaze drones that you send to Russia, there are still hits”, – Zelenskyy noted.

The Ukrainian leader also asked the Iranians a few more questions, in particular:

“When an Iranian drone kills a pregnant Ukrainian girl and her husband in their home, why do mothers and fathers in Iran want to do this?” “Why does Iran need such murders that occur when an Iranian Shahed strikes a dormitory with Ukrainian students, people die, a fire starts, rescuers arrive at the scene, and in a few minutes a second Shahed strikes, taking the lives of those who saved the lives of others?”

Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized: “With the hands of Russia, but with yours, your weapons. What do you, the people in Tehran, Shiraz, Sakkez, or any other city of your country, get from this? Unfortunately, even more isolation from the world, even more problems. I am sure you must be on the other side of history – not with evil. Russia started this war for the sake of enslavement.”

He also added that the people of Iran could live a very different life if they were not put on the same side as such evil as Russian aggression.

Although Iran does not officially recognize that it continues to help the terrorist country, its drones fly to peaceful settlements in Ukraine again and again, destroying civilian infrastructure and killing civilians.

Officially, Tehran admitted that it had supplied Russia with only a small batch of kamikaze drones before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But the media have repeatedly described how Moscow receives weapons from Iran. The EU imposed new sanctions on Iran for kamikaze drones supply to Russia.

On the night of May 28, Russian terror troops launched a record number of 54 kamikaze drones against Ukraine. Russians are using Iranian-made “Shaheds”, as shown by the Ukrainian military based on pieces from downed drones. Therefore, such statements by the Ministry of Iranian Foreign Affairs and the Tehran authorities appear cynical.

Read also: Iran may be supplying Russia with military aid via Caspian Sea – CNN