Russia Resumes Drone Attacks from Iran... Partial Blackout in Southern Ukraine

WSJ "Iranian Drone Stock Seems to Have Been Replenished"

Buildings in downtown Kyiv destroyed by an Iranian-made suicide drone attack.
[Image source=AP, Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] The Russian military has resumed airstrikes using Iranian-made suicide drones (unmanned aerial vehicles), causing power outages and other damages.

The Ukrainian Southern Operational Command reported on the 10th (local time) that Russia resumed drone attacks, striking the southern port city of Odesa and other areas, according to the American daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the same day. The Ukrainian military also activated its air defense system and shot down 10 Iranian-made 'Shahed-136' drones.

The command explained that four drones were shot down each in Kherson and Mykolaiv, and two drones were also intercepted in Odesa.

However, some drones evaded the Ukrainian air defense and struck targets in Odesa and other locations. Maksym Marchenko, governor of Odesa, said, "Energy infrastructure and civilian residential areas were attacked by drones overnight, causing power outages in almost all districts and communities in the region," adding that restoration work is currently underway.

The Russian military purchased hundreds of suicide drones from Iran in August this year and has been attacking Ukrainian forces and major cities. Recently, their use had decreased, leading to speculation that the entire stock had been exhausted.

WSJ assessed, "The reappearance of these unmanned aerial vehicles on the battlefield this week indicates that Russia has replenished its (Iranian drone) inventory."

Earlier, on the 9th, John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council (NSC), stated in a briefing that Iran, which supplied Russia with attack drones, appears to be considering the sale of ballistic missiles as well, evaluating that "the relationship between the two countries is evolving into a full defense partnership."

Russian President Vladimir Putin clearly expressed his intention to continue destroying Ukrainian infrastructure. In a recent public appearance, he said, "There has been a lot of noise about our attacks on the energy infrastructure of neighboring countries," but added, "Criticism related to this will not be able to interfere with our combat mission."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.