KYIV, Dec 24 (Reuters) –A top Ukrainian presidential aide called for the “liquidation” of Iranian factories making drones and missiles, as well as the arrest of their suppliers, as Kyiv accused Tehran of planning to supply more weapons to Russia.
[aesop_image img=”https://kayhanlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022-01-07T102151Z_299358428_RC2AUR94IXLD_RTRMADP_3_IRAN-USA-SOLEIMANI-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” credit=”FILE PHOTO: A missile of the kind used during Iran’s retaliatory strike on the U.S Ayn al-Asad military base in 2020 is seen on display at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran January 7, 2022. REUTERS./” align=”center” lightbox=”off” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]
Writing on Twitter on Saturday, Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said Iran “blatantly humiliates the institution of international sanctions”, before calling for the destruction of Iranian weapon factories in response.
Kyiv has accused Tehran of supplying 1700 Shahed-136 loitering munitions to Moscow, which it says have been used to hit targets in Ukraine since September. Iran denies the allegations.
Ukraine’s espionage chief said in an interview released on Friday that Russia had already launched around 540 of the drones at military and energy targets in Ukraine.
(Reporting by Max Hunder; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Hugh Lawson)
