#Ukraine shoots down the first Iranian drone..and #Russia bombs on all fronts

The Ukrainian army announced, on Tuesday, that it had shot down the first Iranian drone used by the Russian army in combat, at a time when Moscow said it had intensified air strikes on all fronts in Ukraine.

What information is available?

    Ukrainian media circulated pictures showing the wreckage of what they said was the Iranian drone.
    The photos show that the plane was shot down by the Ukrainians, and the supposed detonation did not take place.
    The Ukrainian military says the drone is a single-use suicide bomber, in which the plane explodes upon hitting the target.
    The Associated Press quoted a Ukrainian military official and a news website closely linked to the military that the downed plane resembled a triangle or a delta.
    They mentioned that the plane is being used by Iran and is called "Shahid".
    The Ukrainians said that the plane was shot down in Kobyansk, near Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, where Kyiv has launched a counterattack for days.

months of leaks

    Since last July, there have been many reports of Russian-Iranian contacts in the field of drones.
    Subsequently, US officials, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, said that the United States believed that Iran was preparing to supply Russia with several hundred drones, including aircraft capable of carrying weapons.
    In return, Russia demanded evidence to prove its allegations of obtaining weapons from Iran, including drones.


    Russian strikes are "intense"

In response to the Ukrainian counter-attack, the Russian army announced that it was launching "intense strikes" on Ukrainian forces on all fronts on Tuesday.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily report that "the Russian air, ballistic and artillery forces are carrying out intensive strikes on units of the Ukrainian armed forces in all areas of operation," according to "AFP".

She cited bombing operations near Sloviansk, Konstantinovka and Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, in the Mykolaiv and Zaporizhia regions in the south, as well as in Kharkiv in the northeast, where Ukraine led a violent counterattack, forcing Russian forces to withdraw from most of the region.

Ukraine announced on Monday that it had recaptured about 6,000 square kilometers of territory on several fronts in a counterattack launched in early September.