Russia is supplying Iran with Shahed drones, Zelenskiy says
March 14 (Reuters) – Russia is providing Iran with Shahed drones for use against the United States and Israel, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told CNN in an excerpt from an interview published on Saturday.
Zelenskiy told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that it was “100% true” that Iran used Russian-made Martyrs to attack US bases.
Shahed drones have been linked to other attacks on countries in the region, although their manufacturers are not always clear.
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Iran has pioneered the Shahed drone, a much cheaper alternative to expensive missiles. According to Ukrainians, the first mass use of these weapons was seen in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; Thousands of them have been launched by Russian forces since the fall of 2022, according to the Ukrainians.
Although Iran initially provided the unmanned aerial vehicles, Russia now produces its own Shaheds. Other countries’ armed forces have since adopted Shahed-type drones, including the U.S. military, which says it is part of the current campaign against Iran.
(Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Editing by Sergio Non and Jamie Freed)
