Russia requests ballistic missiles from Iran and devises route for them

The Ukrainian government is aware of Russia’s plans to buy ballistic missiles Fateh-110 and Zolfagar from Iran and ship them by air to Crimea and by sea to Russian ports on the Caspian Sea.

Source: The Economist media outlet, referring to Vadym Skibitskyi, the Deputy Head of the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine; Yurii Ihnat, spokesman of the Air Force of Ukraine, at a briefing

Quote: "We know arrangements are already being made."

Details: Ihnat also stated that Russia agreed not only on 2400 Iran-made drones, but also on ballistic missiles.

"There is information that Russia and Iran reached an agreement concerning the ballistic missiles as well. It does not really matter how they will be transported to Russia. We see that there is regular air traffic between Moscow and Tegeran, so it is across the Caspian Sea…", he added.

Ihnat could not specify how many missiles Iran can supply Russia with; he re-addressed this question to the Chief Intelligence Directorate: "I think this information should not be made public for now. Some offices have it."

Quote: "It is a fact that Russia will be supplied with these missiles with a 300 and a 700 km range…This is a new threat, just like Shahed drones. We need to somehow react to these missiles, we need to destroy them. They must be destroyed, maybe, where they are launched because we have no effective protection from the ballistic missiles besides their physical annihilation during the launch phase.

I think that both the higher military command of Ukraine and our partners are already working on this issue and looking for effective ways to counteract these new threats."

Details: Both Skibitskyi and Ihnat admit that Ukraine has no effective protection against the Iranian missiles, which strike targets at much higher speeds than cruise missiles or drones, or against the similar Iskander missiles Russia has already used in Ukraine.

Skibitskiy told The Economist that Russians launched 25 Iskanders in October. Ukraine was able to intercept only three. The country is equally defenceless against the hypersonic Kinzhal missiles Russia has mounted onto some of its warplanes.

So far Russia’s use of such missiles has been restrained only by scarcity. "The Russians are critically short of munitions," says a Western statesman. Mr Skibitskiy estimates that Russia has just 120 Iskanders left. Other sources put the number of Kinzhals at around 40. With its stocks replenished by the Iranians, however, Russia could double its attacks.

Now more than ever, Kyiv-based dignitaries say, Ukraine needs weapons capable of shooting down ballistic missiles, such as America’s Patriot system. They say Ukraine also needs longer-range rockets such as America’s ATACMS, which they hope to use to strike command centres located hundreds of kilometres behind enemy lines.

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