ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Ukrainian air defense forces on Wednesday morning intercepted and destroyed 11 Iranian-made drones launched from Russia towards Odessa and Zaporizhzhia.
“The enemy launched Shahed 136/131 UAVs from the southeast. In total, up to 20 drones were released,” Ukrinform said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that 11 of those had been destroyed.
"The enemy targeted granaries and a production and transshipment complex in the Danube," Ukraine’s southern military command said. A fire also reportedly broke out at one of the warehouses.
No civilian casualties were reported in the attacks.
Airstrikes targeting grain storage facilities in the Odessa region have increased since Russia withdrew from a United Nations-brokered grain deal in July, sparking concern this could accelerate a global food crisis.
Ukrainian ports on the Danube river have also become a target for Russian attacks, raising fears of their proximity to Romania, a NATO and European Union member. Romania has now emerged as the main transit point for grain exports from Ukraine since the deal collapsed.
Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 drones have been repeatedly used by Russia in its attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, leading to a barrage of international sanctions and condemnations on Iran. Tehran said the drones it sent to Russia preceded the war in Ukraine, which broke out in February last year.
Reports emerged last week that the US has been pushing Iran to stop selling drones to Russia, as parts of wider talks to de-escalate tension.
According to the White House, drones and spare parts are sent from Amirabad in Iran to Makhachkala in Russia’s Dagestan on ships via the Caspian Sea. They are then launched towards Ukraine from airbases in the Russian cities of Sescha and Primorsko-Akhtarsk.
