Zelenskyy claims Russia ordered 2,000 drones from Iran; accuses Israel of ignoring Kyiv

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Russia's recent shelling of several residential buildings in the national capital and lambasted Iran for supplying suicide drones to the aggressor. According to the Ukrainian President, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin had ordered around 2,000 drones from Tehran and asserted Moscow used several of them in killing Ukranian nationals. "The disgusting sound of Iranian drones is heard in our skies every night. According to our intelligence, Russia ordered about 2,000 'Shaheds' from Iran," Zelenskyy said during a speech at a conference organised by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Monday.

However, it was not clear whether the war-embattled President was referring to Moscow's recent purchase or the new orders. 
During his 9-minute-long speech, Zelenskyy also blasted Israel over its stance toward his country and the Russian invasion. According to Zelenskyy, if Jerusalem had not decided to refrain from providing military aid to Ukraine, Moscow would not have collaborated with Iran. He went on to say that Iran would not have supplied lethal drones to Moscow if Israel had promised to shield Kyiv.  “This alliance of theirs would simply not have happened if your politicians had made only one decision at the time — the decision we asked for,” said the President.

Zelenskyy slams Israel for not providing military aid 

Notably, Israel has maintained a strict policy on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. As of now, Jerusalem has not provided any military aid to the war-torn nation, despite knowing its advanced anti-drone systems are capable of dealing with Iranian drones. "Russia loses to us in a real confrontation on the battlefield. Putin's army does not know how to fight. We beat it on our land in such a way that it is forced to withdraw its contingents even from other regions that it tried to destabilize. Pay attention - the Russian presence in Syria has been significantly reduced thanks to our defenders, who are beating the occupiers," said Zelenskyy while explaining Russia-Iran ties.

"But, unfortunately, we do not have our own "Iron Dome". We still do not have a modern and effective air defence and missile defence system that could secure our skies. That is why Russia hopes to use terror in the air to compensate for losses on the ground," said the Ukrainian President. According to the president, Russia has used almost 4,500 missiles against Kyiv and claimed Moscow's stock of missiles is now dwindling. Further, he asserted Russia is now looking for affordable weapons in other countries to continue terror and added, "It found them in Iran".

Image: AP