RUSSIA is set to start using Iranian ballistic missiles for its brutal invasion of Ukraine “within weeks”, the US and UK have warned.
The allies have revealed the Islamic Republic is sending short-ranged bombs to its ‘Axis of Evil‘ pal as Vladimir Putin continues his cruel invasion.
BEN DANCE/FCDO/UNPIXSForeign Secretary David Lammy met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken today[/caption]
Wikipedia CommonsThe Fath-360 is fired from the back of a lorry[/caption]
AFPRussia has struck Ukrainian cities like Lviv with Iranian drones[/caption]
Russian troops have already been trained to use them in Iran and shipments of the Fath-360 have arrived in the country, the US claims.
The US has called it a “threat to all Europe” and says they will likely be used within weeks.
Western allies have already hit back against the move, with sanctions now being announced on Tehran.
More ballistic missiles means Russia will be able to continue its tactic of striking key Ukrainian civilian infrastructure like the power grid.
Flights to and from the country and the UK, France and Germany have now been banned.
There are currently a handful of direct Iran Air flights between the UK and Iran each week but they have been give 12 months notice to cease.
Russian cargo ships believed to be used to transport the arms have also been hit with sanctions.
Putin has turned to his dictator pals in Iran and North Korea over the past two years to bolster his ammo stocks.
Mad Vlad is trying to plunge Ukrainians into the cold and dark as winter approaches.
Iran has denied providing Russia with weapons for its war in Ukraine.
The announcement of the missile supply came as Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London today.
Blinken said the missiles, which have a range of only 75 miles, “gives the Russians an additional capability and additional flexibility.”
He said: “Russia will be able to dedicate its own ballistic missiles to longer-range targets.
“Anyone who is providing assistance to Russia, whether it is direct assistance like Iran or North Korea, whether it is assistance to their defense industrial base, like China, is perpetuating the war.”
Wikipedia CommonsThe missile can fly at Mach 4, or 3000mph[/caption]
EPADictator Putin is having to turn to allies for help[/caption]
Lammy said the supply of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia was “definitely a significant escalation”.
Blinken and Lammy are preparing to make a joint visit Wednesday to Ukraine, where they will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Keir Starmer are also set to meet later this week.
Zelenskyy is trying to get the US and allies to allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied missiles to strike deep inside Russia and hit sites from which Moscow launches aerial attacks.
It comes as Ukraine struck Moscow directly with a 144-drone blitz last night.
It’s the biggest drone strike on Moscow so far – an event becoming increasingly common – and comes as the brave country still holds land in Kursk.
Experts told The Sun that it shows Putin can’t defend his capital and would make him personally weaker.
That has left him “rattled”, one said, with another saying that he is becoming weaker in the eyes of his oligarch pals.
Alan Mendoza, the executive director of The Henry Jackson Society, said Ukraine was “humiliating” Putin.
He said: “All he appears to be achieving is weakening Russia, making it appear, you know, humiliated on the world stage.
“And the more of these attacks that happen, the more that’s going to be the case.”
Weapons Iran have sent to Russia
Iran has already sent a number of different weapons to Russia for it to use in its invasion of Ukraine.
The Islamic Republic has stepped up its support for Vladimir Putin by now sending the Fath-360 short-ranged ballistic missile.
The Ayatollah has already sent thousands of attack drones and sold Russia artillery shells, tank munitions, and rockets.
Ukraine and Western allies have accused Tehran of supplying Moscow with hundreds of suicide attack drones known as the Shahed-131 and Shahed-136.
Russia is now seeking to build the drones themselves at a cheaper price and is expected to be able to build around 4,000 a year by September 2025.
Reuters has previously reported that Iran has already sent other types of ballistic missile, including 400 missiles mostly from the Fateh-110 classification.
ReutersThe allies say Iran is sending the missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine[/caption]