Ukraine says 45 Iranian-made drones shot down on New Year’s Eve
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Ukrainian Air Force Command on Sunday said that Russia attacked the country with 45 Iranian-made drones on New Year’s Eve, but “did not manage to spoil the holiday” as all of the drones were successfully shot down.
The attack was carried out using “Iranian-made Shahed-131/136 kamikaze drones,” according to a statement from the command which noted that 13 out of the 45 drones were shot down in 2022, while the other 32 were shot down in 2023.
Photos published on social media by Andriy Nebytov, the head of Kyiv's regional police force, showed the wreckage of some of the drones that were downed by the Ukrainian forces, which had “Happy New Year” and “Boom” written on them in Russian.
Instead of New Year's fireworks. russia launched 45 Iranian-made kamikaze drones at Ukraine throughout New Year's Eve.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) January 1, 2023
All 45 of them were shot down.
The kremlin terrorist cannot waver the determination of Ukrainians.
2023 is the year of new victories.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in December said that Russia has received a new batch of Shahed drones from Iran, numbering 250 items, adding that they are primarily used to attack the country’s energy sector.
Ukraine has received large amounts of military support and air defenses from its Western allies, making it difficult for Russian warplanes to target the country. Explosive drones have become a cheaper and more efficient weapon for Russia.
The US, UK, and European Union have imposed fresh sanctions on Tehran over the use of Iranian drones in Ukraine. Last month, Iran’s foreign ministry admitted that drones had been sent to Russia, but claimed the transaction had preceded the war in Ukraine which broke out in February.