(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Iranians on Wednesday to reconsider supplying Russia with deadly drones to prevent the country from slipping into the “dark side of history”.
Iranian-made Shahed drones supplied to Moscow play a major role in attacks on Russian cities and infrastructure, but President Zelensky said Kiev’s air defenses are now adept at shooting them down. He said about 900 of the 1,160 aircraft were aimed at Ukrainian targets.
“The simple question is this: What interest do you have in being an accomplice in Russian terrorism?” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
“What good is Iran in such a cynical killing? At the hands of Russia, but with your weapons, with your weapons … Your Shahed, who terrorizes Ukraine every night , it only means that the people of Iran are being driven more and more into the depths of the world’s dark side of history. ”
Russia has stepped up military cooperation with Iran since Iran launched an invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
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Iran initially denied supplying Russia with Shahed drones, but later said it provided a small number of drones before the conflict began.
(Reporting: Ron Popeski, Editing: Diane Craft)
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