What Iranian Kamikaze drones mean for Ukraine
Iranian officials have denied supplying the drones but ‘no one believes them’

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Kamikaze drones were “flying low and slow” over central Kyiv on Monday morning, said John Paul Rathbone and Christopher Miller in the FT. They were Iranian Shahed-136s, dubbed “mopeds” by the Ukrainians because of the buzzing noise made by their cheap two-stroke engines. One crashed into a street; another exploded into a residential building. Among the civilian dead that day were a young couple, the woman six months pregnant.
The drones are effectively “cheap cruise missiles”, which can be pre-set to hit specific targets up to 1,500 miles away, and their relatively low price – $20,000 apiece – means they can be unleashed “in swarms”.
Since the 8 October attack on the Kerch Bridge from Crimea to the Russian mainland, the Kremlin’s forces have “stepped up efforts to inflict suffering from afar”, said The New York Times. A barrage of drone and missile attacks have targeted Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure. A third of the country’s power stations have been destroyed, resulting in widespread blackouts. Kyiv’s water supply has also been interrupted, and now Ukrainians face “the prospect of a desolate winter without basic services”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Iranian officials have denied supplying the drones, said Michael Day in the i newspaper. “No one believes them.” It’s clear that Russia and Iran “have entered into a desperate marriage of convenience as they both try to defy Western sanctions and retain their grip on power.” Russia needs Iran’s help because it has burned through its stocks of weaponry; Iran badly needs money. But this “unholy alliance” between pariah regimes may “prompt others to act”.
Involvement threatens to ‘globalise’ war
Israel has so far refused to send military aid to Kyiv, but it will be hard to stand by for long as Russia continues to bankroll the military-industrial complex of its greatest enemy. And Israel could send Ukraine some of the best air defence systems in the world.
Iranian involvement threatens to “globalise” the war, said The Times. Israel is already fighting Iranian proxy forces in Syria, whose airspace is controlled by Russian forces. The situation is potentially explosive, as Kremlin figures pointed out when they warned Israel against involvement.
Either way, the Iranian drones will not turn the tide of the war, said Dan Sabbagh in The Guardian. They have a “limited destructive capacity”, and their use only proves that Russia is running short of more powerful guided missiles.
No evidence to show strategy will work
Besides, the whole strategy of attacking Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure won’t work, said Max Boot in The Washington Post. “There is, in fact, virtually no evidence from the past 100 years that terror-bombing has been a war-winning tactic. The usual result is to unite the population in defiance.”
Ukrainian forces continue to liberate occupied territory; Russia began the evacuation of the key southern city of Kherson this week. “The combination of Russian barbarism and Ukrainian military success is keeping the anti-Putin coalition united.”
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Is Ukraine losing the support of Eastern Europe?
Today's big question Grain dispute between Warsaw and Kyiv could lead to other dominos falling
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
Russian pilot 'tried to shoot down RAF plane'
Speed Read 'Ambiguous' communications triggered the potentially deadly incident in 2022, defence sources say
By Julia O'Driscoll Published
-
Inside the luxury bulletproof train taking Kim Jong Un to Russia
The Explainer The North Korean leader has continued the tradition of train travel established by his father
By Rebekah Evans Published
-
Yevgeny Prigozhin: will ‘predictable’ death of Wagner chief backfire on Putin?
Today's Big Question Analysts say Russian president faces growing danger from advisers and risk of revenge from Wagner fighters
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
How much is the Russia-Ukraine war costing?
In Depth Kyiv faces $400 billion rebuilding bill and military spending could soon catch up with Russia’s economy
By Richard Windsor Published
-
Why Putin is weaponising grain in the war with Ukraine
Under the Radar Russian president’s use of food as a strategic weapon could prove brutally effective
By The Week Staff Published
-
Ukraine war: who is winning?
feature Kyiv reports some counter-offensive success but progress remains slow
By Sorcha Bradley Published
-
Two dead in Crimea bridge attack as Russia halts Ukraine grain deal
Speed Read Moscow pulls out of landmark UN agreement in response to ‘terrorist’ incident
By The Week Staff Published