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Ukraine has accused Iran of violating a UN Security Council ban on the transfer of drones capable of flying 300 kilometers and invited UN experts to visit the country to inspect Iranian-origin drones being used by Russia against civilian targets.
A letter from Ukraine’s UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and members of the UN Security Council was obtained by The Associated Press ahead of a closed council meeting late Wednesday requested by Britain, France and the United States on Iran’s sale of hundreds of drones to Russia.
US Deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington on Wednesday that the United States will join Britain and France in raising the issue at the council meeting.
Kyslytsya tweeted on Wednesday that the issue of Iranian drones used against civilians and civilian infrastructure will also be raised at an open council meeting on Ukraine on Friday.
Russia is believed to have sent waves of Iranian-made Shahed drones into Ukraine to strike at power plants, residential buildings and other key infrastructure in Kyiv, the capital, and other cities.
Ukraine’s Western-reinforced air defences have made it difficult for Russian warplanes to operate, and killer drones are a cheap weapon to seek out and destroy targets while spreading fear among troops and civilians.
