Russia has most likely run out of Iranian drones: UK defence ministry

This is because there have been no reports of the single-use drones being used for attacks in Ukraine since around February 15

Russia is ‘likely to seek a resupply’, wrote the ministry on Twitter, as the drones were ‘useful decoys which can divert Ukrainian air defences’

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Ukrainian soldiers carry a drone close to the frontline near Avdiivka, Donetsk region. Photo: AP

Published: 7:49pm, 25 Feb 2023

Russian troops have probably used up their stock of Iranian drones, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Saturday in its daily intelligence update on the war.

This is likely because there have been no reports of the single-use drones being used for attacks in Ukraine since around February 15, the MoD wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

In contrast, between late January and early February, the Ukrainian military had shot down at least 24 Shahed-136 drones.

This undated photograph released by the Ukrainian military’s Strategic Communications Directorate shows the wreckage of what Kyiv has described as an Iranian Shahed drone downed near Kupiansk, Ukraine. Photo: AP

“Russia will likely seek a resupply,” the MoD wrote. “Although the weapons do not have a good record in destroying their intended targets, Russia likely sees them as useful decoys which can divert Ukrainian air defences from more effective Russian cruise missiles.”

The British MoD has been publishing daily intelligence updates on the progress of the war in Ukraine since it began. This is the British government’s way of countering the Russian narrative. Moscow accuses London of a disinformation campaign.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden ruled out the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine at this stage during an interview on Friday, the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

With regard to demands by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden told US television channel ABC: “He doesn’t need F-16s now.”