Russia probably runs down its stock of Iranian drones – British intelligence

11:16, 25.02.2023 1 min read

The Russian Federation has not launched Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles in Ukraine since February 15, which may indicate the exhaustion of their reserves, according to a defense intelligence report published on Twitter by the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Saturday morning.

“There have not been any reports of Iranian one-way-attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA-UAVs) being used in Ukraine since around 15 February 2023. Prior to this, Ukrainian armed forces reported shooting down at least 24 Shahed-136 OWA-UAVs between late January and early February 2023; and scores were destroyed in the first few days of the year. This lack of OWA-UAV deployments likely indicates that Russia has run down its current stock,” the report says.

At the same time, the intelligence suggested that the Russian Federation would most likely look for resupply of attack drones.

“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 message reads.