KYIV – Kyiv said yesterday it has decided to reduce Iran’s diplomatic presence in Ukraine over sending weapons to its foe Russia.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said “the temporary charge d’affaires of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Ukraine was summoned” over the issue.
A ministry statement said the envoy was told the supply of Iranian weapons to Russia “directly contradicts the position of neutrality, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine” and was “an unfriendly act that deals a serious blow to Ukraine-Iran relations”.
“In response to such an unfriendly act, the Ukrainian side decided to deprive the ambassador of Iran in Ukraine of accreditation, as well as to significantly reduce the number of diplomatic personnel of the Iranian embassy in Kyiv”, the ministry said.
Earlier yesterday Kyiv said one civilian was killed during a Russian attack with drones on the southern port city of Odessa and one Iranian-designed unmanned vehicle was shot down by Ukrainian forces.
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s spokesman said, “the use of Iranian-made weapons by Russian troops… are steps taken by Iran against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state”.
Later, Ukraine’s armed forces said four Iranian-made drones had been shot down in the south of the country during the day. – AFP, September 24, 2022
