To their already numerous woes, Ukrainians who are less than 100 kilometers from Russian positions can now add Iranian ballistic missiles, which Tehran has recently delivered to Moscow. Several Ukrainian media outlets cite military sources indicating that a Russian ship has delivered “more than 200 Fath-360” Iranians at a Caspian Sea port on September 4. Iranian instructors will teach Russian military personnel how to use the missile at the Ashuluk test range, located 45 kilometers from the Kazakh border.
Also read our analysis of 2022: Article reserved for our subscribers Iran, new actor in the war in Ukraine
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Operational since 2022 and carrying an explosive charge of 150 kg, the Fath-360 has a range of 120 kilometers. Its satellite guidance gives it a margin of error of 30 meters. Large Ukrainian cities such as Dnipro, Odessa or Kharkiv will in fact find themselves under threat from this newcomer to the Russian arsenal of terror. Moscow resumed its campaign of systematic destruction of the electrical infrastructure throughout Ukraine in the spring. kyiv lacks anti-aircraft systems, such as the American Patriot or the Franco-Italian Mamba, capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.
In recent months, official sources in the United States and other Western countries have been raising concerns about an imminent delivery of Iranian missiles to Moscow in exchange for military technology. Iran has already delivered, starting in September 2022, thousands of Shahed long-range attack drones (now manufactured under license in Russia), Dehlavieh anti-tank missiles and artillery ammunition. The Kremlin has not denied the delivery, stressing that Russia is developing its relations with Tehran as it sees fit, particularly in the areas “the most sensitive”.
“Spectacular climbing”
Tehran, for its part, is sending contradictory signals. Iranian MP Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, confirmed to the Iranian daily on Monday, September 9 Ham-Mihan the supply of ballistic missiles to Russia. On the same day, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Kanani, rejected “categorically” this information. Tehran continues to deny the delivery of Shahed drones to Russia while kyiv has identified hundreds of debris, some of which were shown to the Monde.
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The European Union assured on Monday that Western countries have“credible information” on Iranian ballistic missile deliveries to Russia, according to Peter Stano, a spokesman for the European Union’s diplomatic service. In Washington, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said that Iran’s delivery of ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a “spectacular escalation” Tehran’s support for Moscow in the war in Ukraine and could have consequences “significant consequences”. “We are incredibly alarmed by this information.”he added. NATO, for its part, warned against the risk of“substantial escalation” if these deliveries were confirmed, a spokesman for the Atlantic Alliance said on Monday.
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