Iran ships ‘hundreds’ of ballistic missiles to Russia

Stay informed with free updates

Simply sign up to the War in Ukraine myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.

Iran has sent “hundreds” of ballistic missiles to Russia in what Kyiv officials said marks a “serious escalation” of Tehran’s support for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. 

“More than 200” Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles arrived in a Russian Caspian Sea port this week, according to senior Ukrainian officials familiar with the matter.

The surface-to-surface missiles have a range of up to 120km and are likely to be used by Russia to strike infrastructure and northern cities close to the border, such as Kharkiv and Sumy, and troop positions and military targets along the frontline, including around the strategic eastern city of Pokrovsk, according to the Ukrainian officials. 

The officials said the delivery of the Iranian short-range missiles will allow Russia to deploy its long-range hypersonic Kinzhal missiles — some of the most sophisticated weapons in the Kremlin’s arsenal — to hit targets deeper inside Ukraine. The Kinzhals are more difficult to intercept, with only US-made Patriot air defence systems capable of shooting them down.

Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a former Ukrainian defence minister and director of the Kyiv-based Centre for Defence Strategies, said the Iranian missiles pose a “huge threat”.

“They will be sent to destroy the Ukrainian energy system, most likely in towns and cities,” he said. “That most likely means more deaths of civilians all over the country.”

The Wall Street Journal first reported the missile shipment, citing US and European officials.

Russia has escalated its attacks launching hundreds of missiles and Iranian-made “Shahed” attack drones on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent months, destroying 9GW of power generation capacity — half of the electricity Ukraine needs in winter — and causing widespread blackouts.

An Iranian-made Russian drone crashed in eastern Latvia on Sunday, with preliminary reports suggesting an accidental entry from Belarus, said officials in Riga.

On Saturday, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it was deeply concerned about reports that Iran had sent the missiles to Russia and called on Tehran “to refrain from delivering any types of weapons and military equipment to Russia.” It said confirmation of the delivery would have “devastating consequences for Ukrainian-Iranian relations”.

In exchange for its drones and missiles, Tehran has received greater security co-operation from Moscow and military technology, according to Ukrainian intelligence assessments.

“The deepening of military-technical co-operation between Russia and Iran poses serious security threats not only for Ukraine, but for the whole of Europe, the Middle East and the world,” said the foreign ministry in Kyiv.

“We call on the international community to increase pressure on Tehran and Moscow to protect international peace and security.”

Ukraine’s western backers have not confirmed the delivery of Iranian missiles. But Sean Savett, a spokesperson at the US National Security Council, said on Sunday that Washington was alarmed by the reports and reiterated that together with allies, it was “prepared to deliver significant consequences”.

A transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia would “represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine”, said Savett, echoing comment by CIA director Bill Burns a day earlier at the Financial Times’ Weekend festival in London. “This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilising influence reaches beyond the Middle East.”

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, dismissed the allegations of missile sales as “completely baseless”, claiming they were fabricated by western states for “political purposes”.

Speaking to state news agency IRNA on Sunday, he said “Iran-Russia military co-operation predates the Ukraine war and has no connection to the Ukraine crisis”, adding: “The Islamic republic has never been involved in this military conflict and supports a political resolution to end the crisis.”

Russian officials could not immediately be reached for comment. G7 leaders warned Iran in March that sanctions would be imposed if it sent ballistic missiles to Russia.

The missile delivery is likely to fuel fresh pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for western partners to permit his forces to use long-range US Atacms, British Storm Shadow and French Scalp long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russian territory.

Zelenskyy made his latest request on Friday at a meeting with western defence ministers at Germany’s Ramstein air base, as he looks to increase pressure on Moscow to bring the 31-month war to an end.

Additional reporting by Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran, Colby Smith in Washington, and Richard Milne in Oslo