A Ukrainian official has claimed that Iranian military advisers aiding Russia were killed in Crimea, and warned to carry out targeted attacks against Iranians if they are found in occupied territories and helping Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The remarks were made by the secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, Oleksiy Danilov, who said that the Iranians were in Crimea to help Russia operate the Shahed-136 armed drones supplied by the Tehran government.
Though he did not divulge how many were killed, Israeli media in October reported that 10 from the Iranian armed forces were eliminated in the Ukrainian strikes.
“You shouldn’t be where you shouldn’t be,” Danilov said, in an interview in Kyiv, reports Guardian.
“They were on our territory. We didn’t invite them here, and if they collaborate with terrorists and participate in the destruction of our nation we must kill them.”
Earlier this month, Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian admitted of having supplied a “small number” of drones to Russia, a few months before Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
He, however, denied that Tehran was continuing to supply drones to Moscow.
Meanwhile, Kyiv is struggling to restore its energy grid, which was bombarded by Russian strikes over the week.
On Thursday, much of Ukraine remained without heat or power even as residents in Kyiv scrambled to stock up on water, food and warm clothing fearing further targeted strikes.
According to mayor Vitaly Klitschko, about 60 per cent of three million residents in Kyiv are without power, with temperatures expected to fall well below freezing.
Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
(With inputs from agencies)
