Ukraine opens case against Iranian general for aiding Russia in war crimes

Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's Prosecutor General, announced that a case has been opened against an IRGC brigadier general, Abbas Mousavi Sharifi Mollasaraei, on suspicion of aiding Russia in war and war crimes against Ukrainian.

On August 26, a day after this announcement, Yuriy Bilousov, Head of the War Crimes Department at Ukraine’s Prosecutor General's Office, stated in a television program that the opening of this criminal case signifies that Ukraine now recognizes Iran as a party involved in the war on its territory: "In fact, Ukraine has informed the entire world and presented evidence showing that Iranian military representatives are participating in Russia's attack on Ukraine."

According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, the investigation revealed that between July and August 2022, Russian military representatives reached an agreement with the Islamic Republic on the purchase of Shahed-136 and Mohajer-6 attack drones, along with related equipment, from Iran.

Kostin further wrote that after the contract was signed, Iranian experts trained Russian soldiers to use these drones in combat operations against Ukraine.

In fact, in July 2022, the United States warned that Russia and Iran were engaged in a process to deploy Iranian suicide drones in the war.

Kostin added that between September and October 2022, a group of military instructors from the Islamic Republic launched at least 20 attack drones in Ukraine's Dnipro and Mykolaiv regions, leading to the destruction and damage of civilian infrastructure protected under international humanitarian law.

The Security Service of Ukraine had previously identified this IRGC brigadier general, stating that Brigadier General Sharifi Mollasaraei directly assisted in commanding Russian Federation occupation forces in attacks on Ukraine and organized the training of Russian troops.

Russia has used hundreds of Iranian kamikaze drones since October 2022 to attack civilian and infrastructure targets. Russia also uses the drones in large-scale missile attacks to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses. The latest massive attack earlier this week saw around 100 Shahed drones used.

According to the Security Service of Ukraine, in 2022, Mollasaraei led a team of Iranian drone instructors who traveled to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General emphasized that this IRGC brigadier general is charged under Ukraine's criminal laws with "aiding in an aggressive war as part of a premeditated plan against Ukraine, violating the laws and customs of war, and committing war crimes."

The report also indicates that, in addition to Mollasaraei, seven other military personnel from the Islamic Republic who were sent as instructors to train Russian occupation forces in Ukraine and the occupied territories are facing similar charges.

In October 2022, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry accused the Islamic Republic of Iran of providing military assistance to the aggressor country, Russia, in its war against Ukraine.

According to published reports, since the fall of 2022, the Russian Federation has used Iranian-made Shahed-136 and 131 kamikaze drones and Mohajer-6 multi-purpose drones in its war against Ukraine.

The Iranian government initially denied supplying its drones to the Russian military but later admitted to it, though it claimed that the drones were delivered before Russia's war against Ukraine began.

In November 2023, the White House warned that the Iranian government was preparing to provide ballistic missiles to Russia. Reuters later reported that Iran had already sent hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia.