Ukraine identifies Iranian company as the supplier of military drones to Russia
The General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine has reportedly identified the producer of the Shahed 131/136 drones, allegedly used by Russia in attacks, as the Iranian company Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company, according to the Suspilne portal.
11:24 AM EST, December 10, 2023
"Based on expertise results, drones marked as Gieran-2 were identified as kamikaze-type drones Shahed-136. The model under the name Gieran-1 was identified as the Shahed-131 drone," the prosecutor’s office announced on a Saturday in response to the portal's request.
The war in Ukraine: Iranian company accused of supplying drones to Russia
The Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Company (HESA) is considered to be the producer of these weapons, which include circular ammunition, and which Russia reportedly uses in large-scale attacks on Ukraine, according to findings by the prosecutor's office.
Yet, the prosecutor's office provided no information on other attack drones such as the Mohajer-6 or Italmas. "The criminal investigation on this matter is still ongoing," it was announced.
Given that components from foreign countries were discovered in these Iranian drones, the Ukrainian prosecutor's office has sent inquiries to nine countries to establish the supply chain for these parts. The names of the countries were not revealed.
Russians are known to use Shahed drones equipped with thermobaric ammunition, states the Ukrainian military expert Olexandr Kovalenko.
"Shahed-131/136 are primarily used behind the front lines and their main targets are often civilians. This means Russians intentionally equip these drones with such perilous warheads to increase the scale of destruction and casualties," observes the expert.
Thermobaric ammunition creates an explosion that lasts for several dozen milliseconds, significantly longer than that produced by conventional explosives, and affects a larger area.
Russia has "four times more kamikaze drones"
"Russia's war economy is operating at full throttle. A continuous stream of new weaponry and technologies keep appearing at the Ukrainian front," reports the portal of the German daily, Bild. "Russians have four times as many kamikaze drones as we do," say Ukrainian soldiers. It is rumored that Russian companies are supplying the invading forces with 4,000 to 5,000 pieces of this weapon on a monthly basis.
Over the past months, Russian companies have begun manufacturing kamikaze drones, taking inspiration from Chinese and western hobbyist and observatory drones, reportedly supplying the invading forces with 4,000 to 5,000 pieces of these weapons every month.
