Russia launches largest drone attack since Iranian support began, says Zelenskyy

Russia launched 267 attack drones overnight on Saturday, marking the largest single assault since the use of Iranian-made projectiles began following Russia's war on Ukraine.

"On the eve of the third anniversary of the full-scale war, Russia launched 267 attack drones against Ukraine—the largest attack since Iranian drones began striking Ukrainian cities and villages," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday in a post on X.

It is not clear if the drones were Iranian but Iran has supplied Russia with Shahed drones which have been used extensively in strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian targets, and as such, have seen Iran levied with global sanctions from across the world.

On Saturday, Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations defended the country’s export and sale of its Shahed-136 kamikaze drones, saying that there is no legal prohibition on selling them to other nations.

The statement came after a disassembled Iranian-designed Shahed 136 military drone seized in Ukraine arrived at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland this week and was displayed as part of a political conference which among the issues, addressed the ongoing threat of Iran.

Russian forces have used thousands of these drones—rebranded as Geran-2—in Ukraine, with one striking Chernobyl’s radiation containment shelter on February 14.

Iranian-backed militants also launched a Shahed that killed three US service members in Jordan on January 28.

The United States first warned in July 2022 that Iran was preparing to supply Russia with battlefield drones, and September 13 marked the anniversary of the first Shahed drone being shot down by Ukraine.

The Shahed 136 drones have been used alongside cruise and ballistic missile attacks to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.