As thousands of Hasidic Jews celebrated the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, in the Ukrainian city of Uman, local media reported on Tuesday that Russian forces launched at least 10 Iranian Shahad-136 model drones over the city from the territory of the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
According to Ukraine, the Russians wanted to target religious sites and a security official told a Ukrainian news site that “planned terrorist acts against Israeli citizens are one of the conditions for the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia.”
“As we know, this is not the first example of cooperation between the two countries. Not so long ago, a Ukrainian civilian plane was shot down in Iran, probably by mistake. But you can see the Kremlin’s interests behind this case,” he said.
On Monday, three Iranian suicide drones were shot down by Ukrainian air defense near the port city of Odesa. The deal on purchasing drones between Iran and Russia has led to a deterioration in relations between Tehran and Kyiv.
Earlier this week, Ukraine announced it would sever ties with Iran, saying “Tehran is supplying drones to the Russian military,” a move Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called “collaboration with evil.”
Tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews gathered in Uman for their annual pilgrimage on Sunday, despite authorities asking them to skip the trip because of the war. Every year they arrive in the city from across the world to visit the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, one of the main figures of Hasidic Judaism, for the Jewish New Year.
Source » i24news