Ukraine: Iran Responsible for Deaths of Ukrainians by Sending Drones to Russia; EU Should Impose Sanctions

Following Russian drone attacks on Kyiv on Monday, one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s advisors described Iran as “responsible for the deaths of Ukrainian people.” Simultaneously, the country’s foreign minister called for sanctions against Iran.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stated in recent weeks that the Russian military is using Iranian-made “Shahed-136” drones in its attacks, including attacks on civilian areas and infrastructure. The Islamic Republic’s government has denied sending drones to Russia, and Russia has not yet commented on the matter.

Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the Ukrainian president, wrote on his Twitter page on Monday, October 25: “Iran is responsible for the deaths of Ukrainian citizens. A government that oppresses its own citizens is giving terrible weapons to Russia to kill people in the heart of Europe. This is the result of appeasing an authoritarian regime and shows that current sanctions are insufficient.”

Ukraine’s foreign minister also called for sanctions against Iran by the European Union via a Twitter message due to the supply of offensive drones to Russia.

Dmytro Kuleba said in his message that he has “requested from the European Union more air defense and ammunition supplies, and that the EU impose sanctions against Iran for sending drones to Russia.”

Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of the Ukrainian president, wrote on Monday in a Telegram message that the Russian military used Iranian drones in Monday morning’s attack on Kyiv.

Simultaneously, the European Union approved on Monday a military training program for thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in European countries and allocated another 500 million euros in aid to Ukraine to purchase weapons.

The budget for the military training program, which is planned to last at least two years, is approximately 107 million euros and will be implemented under the supervision of a French Navy admiral.

The European Union stated in a statement that the aim of this training program is “to help Ukrainian military personnel defend the country’s territorial integrity based on international borders, actively defend the country’s independence, and protect civilians.”

Under this program, the European Union will provide “individual, collective, and specialized training” to Ukrainian armed forces personnel, and countries that are not EU members can participate in this program.

In the first phase of this program, which is scheduled to begin in mid-November, approximately 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers will receive training in Poland and Germany.

Several NATO and EU members have been providing military training to Ukrainian soldiers for several months within bilateral cooperation frameworks. Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said on Monday: “By consolidating all the capabilities of the armed forces of EU member states, we can provide a better training program.”

NATO began training Ukrainian armed forces personnel in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea to Russian territory. The alliance believes that training Ukrainian instructors and trainers is the best and most effective way to help Ukraine, as this way Ukrainian military personnel do not need to travel to other countries for training.

The European Union is providing another 500 million euros from the EU Peace Fund to Ukraine to purchase weapons. This is the sixth cash aid package from the EU to Ukraine for weapons purchases.

The majority of this amount will be allocated to the purchase of lethal weapons and ammunition, with approximately 10 million euros allocated for personal protective equipment, medical first aid supplies, and fuel.

Including this amount, the total EU cash aid for Ukrainian weapons purchases reaches over three billion dollars. Some EU member states have also separately provided additional cash and weapons aid to Ukraine.

Source: Radio Farda