Ukraine says Iran has sent drone instructors to Russia
Lviv, Ukraine, Oct 20 (EFE).- Iran has struck an agreement with Russia to send advisers and instructors in the operation of Iranian-made combat drones to Russian territory, the Ukrainian military reported Thursday.
The experts sent to Russia will train its troops to operate the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones that Moscow has already been using in Ukraine as well as the more powerful Arash-2 drones, which may be deployed in the future, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on its Facebook page.
Although the army did not specify where the Iranian experts have been sent or how it has obtained this information, on Wednesday it said that it had shot down a total of 223 Shahed-136 drones in the last 36 days.
“As of October 19, since the first downing of an Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drone on the territory of Ukraine (Sep. 13, 2022, Kupyansk), the air defense of the Air Force and other components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine destroyed 223 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) of this type,” the General Staff said.
In the last 24 hours, the Ukrainian military repelled Russian attacks in several part of the country, especially in the east, including Bilohorivka in the Luhansk regions and Bakhmut, Bakhmutske, Klishchiivka, Krasnohorivka, Novomykhailivka, Nevelske, Opytne and Maryinka in the Donetsk region.
Meanwhile, Russian forces carried out 11 missile strikes and 28 air strikes, as well as over 65 multiple launch rocket system strikes over the course of the past 24 hours, according to the General Staff.
More than 25 cities, towns and villages across Ukraine were attacked by Russia, including the southern Zaporizhzhia region, where Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is located.
The Russians used cruise, air-to-surface, and anti-aircraft guided missiles as well as more than ten Shahed-136 drones, half of which were launched from Belarus, the army said. EFE
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