Over 200 Iranian-Made Drones Shot Down by Defense Forces in Month: Ukraine

More than 200 Iranian-made "kamikaze" drones sent by Russia have been destroyed by defense forces in Ukraine, the nation's armed forces said on Wednesday.

"As of October 19, from the first case of shooting down in Ukraine drone-kamikaze of Iranian production "Shahed-136" (September 13, 2022, m. Kupyansk), the air defense of the Air Force and other components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine destroyed 223 BPL of this type," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook post.

"Destroying the barrageous Shahed-136 ammunition," the post said, "involves anti-propelled missile units, destructive aviation, self-propelled anti-aircrafts, mobile PZRK fire groups, air-powered cannons, large-caliber machine guns and a different weapon."

The announcement by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine comes amid controversy over the use of Iranian-made drones by Russian forces amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Over the past several weeks, Ukraine has continued to claim that Russia is using these Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones, but Iran has disputed the claims, with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian saying this weekend that "Iran has not and will not provide any weapon to be used in the war in Ukraine."

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Iranian officials agreed to send more military equipment to Russia following President Vladimir Putin's partial mobilization announcement. In September, Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the U.S. believes that "the Russians now are using the Iranian drones that we've talked about in the past—that were delivered to Russia."

During a press conference on Tuesday, Ryder responded to the report from Reuters and said, "I don't have any information to corroborate that at this time."

Seth Jones, director of the International Security Program and the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Newsweek last week that in response to the Ukraine attack on the bridge in Crimea, Russian forces used "Iranian drones," and noted that it's possible Russia could acquire more weapons from Iran.

"It is not out of the question that they could get longer-range, stand-off missiles because the Iranians make those types of missiles," Jones said.

Alex Vatanka, director of the Middle East Institute's Iran Program, previously spoke to Newsweek about the use of Iranian-made drones by Russia and said that while it might help prove Iran as "an ally to Putin," is does not help "Iran otherwise."

Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Russia and Iran for comment.