Ukraine Claims It Shot Down Iranian Suicide Drones Aimed At Uman

NEW YORK (VINnews) —  Tens of thousands of Israelis marked Rosh Hashana with celebrations in the city of Uman, but at the same time Ukrainian sources claimed Tuesday that Russian forces had deliberately launched at least 10 Iranian suicide drones of the Shahed-136 model over the city, with the aim of harming Israelis staying there.

According to the reports, during the last few days, Ukraine shot down more than ten drones, some of which were launched from the territory of the Crimean Peninsula and aimed at Uman. According to the Ukrainian assessment, Russia wanted to focus on the Uman site due to the large gathering of chasidim there.

A Ukrainian security official told the Babel news website that “planned acts of terrorism 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 long ago, a Ukrainian civilian plane was shot down in Iran, probably by mistake. But you can see the interests of the Kremlin behind this case.”

On Monday, Ukraine reported that three Iranian suicide drones were shot down by the Ukrainian air defense near the city of Odesa. The drone deal between Iran and Russia led to a deterioration in relations between Tehran and Kyiv, and earlier this week, Ukraine announced that it would cut ties with Iran, claiming that “Tehran supplies the Russian army with drones”, a move that President Volodymyr Zelensky called “collaboration with evil”.

At the same time, the Ukrainian Air Force claimed that, for the first time, it had shot down a large Iranian drone of the Mohajer-6 type. After the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry had already announced that the delivery of the drones would lead to severe damage to the bilateral relations between the countries, a political source said that “in response to the fact the unfriendly act, the Ukrainian side decided to revoke the authority of the Iranian ambassador, and also to significantly reduce the number of diplomatic staff of the Iranian embassy in Kyiv.”

Ukraine had warned last month that it was unsafe for Jews to make the pilgrimage to Uman due to the ongoing war with Russia. Despite this, Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Kornyinchuk, admitted in an interview with the Jerusalem Post last month that “Rosh Hashanah is coming, and no matter what we say, Orthodox Jews will try to get to Uman again.”

“We understand your willingness to go to Uman and favor your support for Ukraine, but this is not the right time. We cannot guarantee your security.”

Kornyinchuk responded to the news of the attempted attack on Uman, stating that it was ‘very sad news and we are happy that there was no loss of life.” He added that 23,000 visitors arrived in Uman, far exceeding expectations for the current festival period.