The Ukrainian military reported today that the coastal city of Odessa was attacked by Iranian-made drones at dawn, two days after a Russian attack with a similar weapon killed two civilians.
“Odessa has been attacked again by enemy ‘suicide planes’,” said the Ukrainian Army’s Southern Operational Command.
“The enemy hit the administration building in the center of the city three times,” the command added in a Facebook message, adding that one of the drones was hit by the Ukrainian Air Force without any loss of life.
Southern Operations Command spokesperson Natalia Gumeniuk told AFP these are “Iranian UAVs”.
The attack came two days after two civilians were killed in a Russian attack by an Iranian-made drone in Odessa. Also on Friday (23), four Iranian drones were shot down in the south of the country, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued a statement on Friday, announcing the decision of the Iranian ambassador to withdraw his accreditation in the country and significantly reduce the number of diplomatic staff at the Iranian Embassy in Kiev.
The same ministry stated, “The Iranian side was informed that the supply of arms to Russia (…) violates neutrality, respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“Providing weapons to Russia to start a war in Ukraine is a hostile act that deals a serious blow to relations between Ukraine and Iran,” he said.
On Saturday (24), Tehran said that the Ukrainian government regretted its decision.
“Tehran regrets the decision of the Ukrainian government regarding diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement.
“This decision is based on false information conveyed by foreign media propaganda against Iran,” he said.
Kanani underlined “his country’s policy of net active neutrality in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, its opposition to war and the need for a non-violent political settlement of differences.”
“Iran will respond appropriately to the decision of the Ukrainian government,” he said.
source: Noticias
