Russia 'aimed Iran-made drones' at Jewish gathering in Ukraine: reports
Ukrainian media has accused Russia of launching Iranian-made drones over an Israeli gathering in the city of Uman during Jewish celebrations
2 min read
Ukraine's Uman is home to a Hasidic Jewish pilgrimage site [Getty]
Russian forces launched at least ten suicide drones over the Ukrainian city of Uman as Israeli pilgrims celebrated the Jewish new year, Ukrainian media reported on Tuesday.
Iranian-made Shahad-136 allegedly buzzed over the religious gathering which local media claimed was "deliberate" and "with the aim of harming Israelis staying there".
No casualties were reported.
Moscow has reportedly obtained desperately needed Shahad-136 drones from Iran, following the success of Ukrainian UAVs against Russian convoys.
Ukrainian military forces have shot down more than 10 drones in the last few days, according to reports, some of which were launched from Russian-annexed Crimea.
Russia was allegedly focusing on Hasidic religious sites with large gatherings celebrating Rosh HaShana - the Jewish new year - said Ukrainian media. Uman is a pilgrimage site for Breslov Hasidic Jews.
Israel had warned its citizens against travelling to war-torn Ukraine.
"As we know, this is not the first example of cooperation between the two countries," a Ukrainian security official told the Babel news website, in reference to Russia and Iran.
"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."
Ukraine said last week that it would downgrade diplomatic ties with Iran and strip the Iranian ambassador of his accreditation over what it called Tehran's "unfriendly" decision to supply Russian forces with drones.
Iran has denied supplying drones to ally Russia.
The Uman' incident comes amid tensions between Russia and Israel since Moscow's February invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
Despite his softer approach to Russia initially, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid later took a tougher stance on the invasion following US pressure.
The closing of Jewish Agency offices in Russia put further strain on Russian-Israeli relations.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews of Russian and Ukrainian origin live in Israel.
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