Iran-Made Drones Kill At Least Three People In Ukraine

Reports on social media say the victims were a woman from Kherson and a married couple from Bakhmut who had fled from their homes hoping to find safety in Odessa.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force announced that Iranian-made drones are still a “headache” for Ukraine.

“Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones largely used by Russia are still difficult to shoot down,” Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda on Sunday.

Since last October, Moscow, which launched its full-scale invasion in February last year, has regularly sent waves of Iranian drones to attack targets in Ukraine. Although they are slow, drones are cheaper and more expendable than advanced missiles.

Some experts say that Russia's use of the Shahed drones, costing around $20,000 each, either is meant to confuse Ukrainian air defenses during missile attacks, or to force Kyiv to spend its expensive Western-supplied anti-air missiles.

Iran has denied sending armed drones to Russia after Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022, claiming that any shipments occurred before the war.

However, Russia has used hundreds of Iranian-made drones to attack Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian targets, with Kyiv reporting more supplies in December as Moscow’s stocks were used up.

Western powers have strongly objected to Iran's decision to arm Russia with the Kamikaze drones, and possibly other weapons and ammunition.