Russia will likely use Iran missiles on Ukraine within weeks, Blinken says. Ukraine could be facing its toughest winter since the invasion, the Prime Minister says. Russia increases the tempo of assaults in Ukraine’s south, puts the most pressure on Ukrainian positions on the left bank of the Dnipro.
Russia will likely use Iran missiles on Ukraine within weeks, Blinken says
Iran has supplied ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday, speaking at a joint press conference with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
“We’ve warned Tehran publicly, we’ve warned Tehran privately that taking this step would constitute a dramatic escalation. Dozens of Russian military personnel have been trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, which has a maximum range of 75 miles,” Blinken said.
“Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine against Ukrainians,” he added.
“This means that Russia will be able to dedicate its own ballistic missiles to longer-range targets, not use them on the shorter-range because it will have these Iranian missiles – that have about a 75-mile radius to them – to do that,” Blinken said on a visit to London.
Russia was also sharing technology sought by Tehran, including on nuclear issues as well as some space information, he added.
Blinken previewed the move to impose sanctions on Iran Air. The United States imposed further sanctions on Iran’s main airline later on Tuesday as three key European allies announced they will move to do the same.
The transfer of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia would signify a “dramatic escalation” of Tehran’s support for Moscow, and the United States is prepared to respond with “significant consequences,” U.S. Department of State spokesperson Vedant Patel told journalists on Monday.
Russia has received a shipment of more than 200 ballistic missiles from Iran in a significant escalation in Tehran’s support for Moscow’s war against Ukraine, The Times said on September 6, citing sources.
In a statement released by Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry on September 7, Ukraine warned Iran of “devastating and irreparable consequences” for bilateral relations if reports that Tehran had supplied Russia with ballistic missiles were correct.
In an interview with an Iranian web site on September 8, a member of the Iranian parliament, Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, acknowledged that Iran had transferred ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani denied Tehran armed Russia with missiles.
Ukraine could be facing its toughest winter since invasion, Prime Minister says
Ukraine could be facing its toughest winter since the full-scale Russian invasion began, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told a news conference Tuesday.
“Energy resilience is one of our greatest challenges this year. We successfully got through threewinters, with this upcoming heating season likely being just as difficult, if not the hardest,” he said.
Ukraine is working towards further enhancing the autonomous capabilities of critical infrastructures and increasing gas production, Shmyhal said. Natural gas output of Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company, climbed to 8.6 billion cubic meters (bcm) in the first seven months of 2024 and was seven per cent higher than a year before. Ukraine plans to get through the upcoming winter relying on domestically-produced gas, like it did last year, the prime minister said.
“We plan to get through this winter relying on domestically produced gas. We got through last winter relying on our own production, without resorting to the assistance of our partners or importing gas,” he said.
Shmyhal reminded that President Zelenskyi urged the public to not speculate on energy issues. The conditions of the upcoming winter will only get clearer as it unfolds, he said, stressing that speculations around the matter were unacceptable.
Ukraine uses two-layer protection to secure its energy facilities against Russia’s attacks. Sand-filled gabions and concrete and metal structures shield them from drone strikes and missile debris, Shmyhal explained.
“Eighty-five per cent of Ukrenergo’s energy facilities that were defined as priority are now protected [Ukrenergo is Ukraine’s national transmission system operator – edit.],” he said.
This season, Ukraine will complete just a few structures that offer third-level protection to energy sites, Shmyhal said.
“We have agreed with our international partners to conserve the construction sites and complete one or two [covers] that are the most close to completion. We will then see how they work and decide on the completion of the rest of them,” he said.
Construction of the structures offering the third level of protection is an expensive, complex and unique project that has not been implemented anywhere else in the world. Ukraine needs more time to complete it, the prime minister said.
Such structures offer 100 per cent protection against all types of weapons. If proved efficient, the covers could be used to also protect industrial sites, Shmyhal said.
Russia increases tempo of assaults in Ukraine’s south, puts most pressure on Ukrainian positions on left bank of Dnipro
Russian forces have increased the tempo of assaults in the area of responsibility for the Tavria operational strategic group, spokesperson for Ukraine’s defense forces in the Tavria direction, Captain Dmytro Lykhoviy told Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne on Tuesday. The Russian used more than 300 one-way attack drones against Ukrainian troops on Monday alone, he said, marking the highest number in months.
“The enemy has considerably increased the tempo of assaults and the number of attacks. The Russians are putting the most pressure on our positions on the left bank of the Dnipro in Kherson region,” Lykhoviy said.
“[Russian forces] sent more than 330 one-way attack drones [into Ukraine] in the past day. The number excludes Shahed drones and is the highest in the past several months. Most of the strikes targeted Kherson region,” he said.
According to Lykhoviy, the number of Russian artillery attacks has also climbed sharply. On Monday, Russian forces launched 312 artillery strikes at Ukrainian troops and dropped 224 bombs from drones.
The fate of civilians illegally detained by the Russian Federation. Ukraine in Flames #661
In this episode of Ukraine in Flames, we’ll explore the dire situation faced by Ukrainian prisoners unjustly detained in Russia under fabricated charges. We delve into the widespread human rights violations, including the denial of basic needs, torture, and forced confessions, while also looking at the legal protections that should safeguard prisoners of war (POWs) and the failure of international bodies to fully enforce these laws. Watch UIF #661 to learn more about the fate of civilians illegally detained by the Russian Federation.
Guests:
- Khrystyna Shkudor, advocacy manager of the Where Are Our People? campaign at PR Army;
- Oleksandra Romantsova, Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties, Tribunal for Putin (T4P) initiative
- Anastasia Panteleeva, Head of Documentation Department, Media Initiative for Human Rights
