ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Ukraine’s embassy in Iraq on Wednesday rejected allegations by media affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that Kyiv had deployed drone units in the Kurdistan Region, dismissing the claims as “completely baseless” and “deliberate disinformation.”
“These allegations are entirely unfounded and amount to deliberate disinformation. Ukraine has not deployed any drones, drone units or related personnel in the Kurdistan Region or anywhere else in Iraq,” said Kyiv’s embassy in Baghdad.
The embassy said Ukraine “respected” Iraq’s territorial integrity and called on the media to exercise caution in their reporting.
The rejection came in response to a Tuesday report by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency. Tasnim cited an unnamed security source alleging Ukraine had deployed “thousands of micro-drones in the Kurdistan Region.”
The source also claimed Ukraine had established “an operational network for micro-drones” across several countries surrounding Iran, adding that the identities of the alleged host countries would be disclosed “at an appropriate time.” Tasnim did not provide publicly verifiable evidence to support the allegations.
The allegations come amid military cooperation between Iran and Russia during the war in Ukraine.
Iran has supplied Russia with Shahed attack drones used in the war, while Ukraine has accused Moscow of sharing satellite imagery of US military facilities in the Middle East in support of Tehran’s attacks during the US and Israeli war against Iran, according to Reuters.
The US Treasury Department has documented Iran’s supply of Shahed-136 drones to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine, including in a September 2023 statement detailing Tehran’s support for Moscow’s drone program.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy back in July accused Russia of sharing satellite imagery of Gulf countries and US military facilities with Iran to support attacks, CBS News reported in July.
In July, Iraq's National Security Advisor Qasim al-Aboudi said Iraqi authorities were investigating alleged Ukrainian involvement in attacks on Iraqi facilities.
Speaking to Iraqi channel Dijlah TV, al-Aboudi said Iraq had established an intelligence cell to investigate the matter and that authorities had arrested a small number of people who allegedly confessed to working for Ukraine.
"We have an intelligence cell working on intelligence analysis," al-Aboudi said, describing the matter as a new development involving alleged Ukrainian activity in Iraq.
He added that the case was complex and required further investigation before responsibility could be assigned.
"The file is complicated," al-Aboudi said. "It requires a lot of investigation before we can accuse this side or that side."
At that time, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry rejected his allegations in a statement, describing them as "unfounded and unsubstantiated."
"There are no facts or evidence to support these allegations," the ministry said, adding that the Iraqi official himself had acknowledged this in his interview.
The ministry also said Iraq had not raised the concerns with Ukraine through diplomatic channels before the allegations became public.
