Ukraine Claims Russia Has Launched Over Eight Thousand Shahed Drones Into the Country

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, marking the second anniversary of the downing of the first 'Shahed' drone in the country, announced that Russia has launched 8,060 of these Iranian drones into Ukraine during this period. On Friday evening, September 23, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry wrote on social media platform X: 'The partnership between Russia and Iran has led to the destruction of homes and loss of lives.' Ukraine first reported the downing of an Iranian drone in the city of Kupiansk, Kharkiv province, on September 13, 2022. Following that, various reports emerged about the continued delivery of Iranian drones to Russia, and the Wall Street Journal reported in May of this year that Russia has also established a production line for Iranian drones at a factory in the Republic of Tatarstan. Over the past two years, Iran and Russia have expanded military cooperation, and recent reports have surfaced regarding the transfer of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia. Despite denials from several officials of the Islamic Republic, the United States, Britain, Germany, and France eventually confirmed these reports and announced plans for punitive actions, including sanctions against Iran Air. Iran continues to deny sending these missiles to Russia, calling the reports 'baseless.' The statistics from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry regarding 8,060 Iranian drones fired by Russia into Ukraine were released ahead of a meeting between the U.S. President and the British Prime Minister. It is expected that the issue of allowing Ukraine to use Western long-range weapons will be one of the main topics of discussion between the two leaders. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also reiterated its call for meeting its military needs in its message on social media platform X.