Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Saturday (local time) accused Russia of helping Iran in its war against the United States and Israel.
In a post on X, Zelensky wrote: “This morning I was informed that US military installations in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region were photographed by Russian satellites for the benefit of Iran.”
Zelenskyi blames Russia
In a tweet, Zelenskyy added that earlier this week, on March 24, Russian satellites imaged a joint US-UK military facility on Diego Garcia, a remote island in the Indian Ocean. He also accused Russia of taking pictures of the Kuwait International Airport and part of the infrastructure of the Greater Burgan oil field.
Read also | Iran claims sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz: How will this benefit Tehran?
According to him, the Russian agency took a photo of the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 25. The Shaybah oil and gas field in Saudi Arabia, İncirlik Air Base in Türkiye and Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar were all captured on 26 March.
The Kremlin has denied all accusations made by the Ukrainian president.
Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia was attacked by the Islamic Republic with ballistic missiles and drones on Saturday, Politico reported, noting that at least 15 US troops were injured in the attack.
An EU diplomat blamed Russia
Zelenskyi’s accusations against Russia echo similar accusations made by the European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas. Last week, Kallas accused Russia of helping Iran with intelligence that helped Tehran target US military assets in the Middle East. The diplomat said Moscow’s support for Tehran shows why Europe needs to keep up pressure on the Kremlin over the war in Ukraine.
Read also | Conflict in the Middle East: Russia and Iran “are brothers in hatred”, says Zelensky
Zelenskyi about the fact that Trump partially lifted sanctions against Russia
Weeks after the US and Israel launched Operations Epic Fury and Operation Rising Lion, US President Donald Trump announced the partial lifting of sanctions against Russia, a move that did not sit well with Ukraine. The partial lifting of sanctions against Russia came after Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a decision that spooked global energy markets and left countries at the mercy of Tehran.
Commenting on the lifting of sanctions, Zelenskyy said: “There are no Ukrainian facilities on this list. But who helps whom when sanctions are lifted from an aggressor who earns daily and provides intelligence for strikes against American, Middle Eastern, British and American-British bases and so on?”
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He continued: “There must be pressure on the aggressor. And the lifting of sanctions is certainly not pressure. It seems strange. Sanctions are being lifted while the aggressor is providing intelligence to the strike establishment, including those countries that are discussing sanctions or have already lifted sanctions.”
Russian-Iranian brothers in hatred: Zelenskyi
This is not the first time Zelenskyy has spoken about Russia’s involvement in the war. He previously argued that a long war between the US and Iran would benefit Russia. In an interview with the BBC, Zelenskyy noted that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is pushing up energy prices and countries could be forced to buy more Russian oil despite the sanctions. According to Zelensky, a long war would also benefit Russia, as US resources are deployed elsewhere and Kiev could see a shortage of missiles and weapons.
Zelenskyi, who was in the UK earlier this month, addressed parliament and noted that the regimes in Tehran and Moscow were “brothers in hatred”, adding that they were therefore brothers in arms.
