Kuleba proposes that Ukrainian president cut diplomatic ties with Russia-ally Iran

Iran supplies weapons to Russia, while continuing to deny involvement

On Oct. 17, while meeting of EU ministers, Kuleba called for tough sanctions against Iran for supporting the aggressor country. He said Iran was lying about supplying weapons to Russia, recalling that Tehran publicly claims to be “against the war” and not supporting either side with weapons.

“Given the amount of destruction caused by Iranian drones to Ukraine’s civil infrastructure, the deaths and suffering inflicted on our people, and the emergence of reports of Iran’s possible continuation of arms supplies to Russia, I am submitting a proposal to the President of Ukraine to sever diplomatic relations with Iran,” said Kuleba.

Kuleba said Iran bears full responsibility for the damage to its relations with Ukraine. The minister added that Kyiv had never taken an anti-Iranian position, but after Iran had become a participant in the crime of Russian aggression and other Russian crimes on Ukrainian territory, Ukraine’s position will be “very clear and honest.”

“Iran, stop supplying weapons to Russia – (then) we will talk about restoring the entire complex of relations,” Kuleba said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Oct. 11 that, according to intelligence, Russia had ordered 2,400 Shahed kamikaze drones from Iran. After the first downed Iranian drones, Ukraine did not extend the accreditation of the Iranian ambassador and reduced the number of personnel in the Iranian embassy to a few employees.

Earlier, The Washington Post, citing U.S. officials, reported that Iran had secretly agreed to transfer not only strike drones to Russia, but also surface-to-surface ballistic missiles for the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.

The missiles are said to have strike ranges of between 300 and 700 kilometers.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine