KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of helping Iran target US military bases in the Middle East by providing satellite intelligence, claiming Moscow has been monitoring Gulf states and American military installations since early July.
“Since the beginning of July, we have recorded active Russian satellite surveillance of the Gulf states and US military facilities located there,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“These images subsequently appear in Iran. At the same time, there is a clear correlation between Russia’s satellite imagery of these sites and Iranian strikes — both before the attacks, in preparation for them, and afterward, to assess the damage inflicted.”
The allegations came as tensions between Ukraine and Iran escalated after Kyiv claimed responsibility for long-range strikes on Iranian-linked vessels in the Caspian Sea, prompting Tehran to threaten retaliation.
On Saturday, Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had successfully targeted vessels transporting military cargo connected to Iran, as well as a warship, during operations in the Caspian Sea.
He said on social media that Ukrainian forces had achieved “very strong results with long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea — including vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship”.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency also said drones had struck “cargo vessels under international sanctions that were used to transport military cargo between Iran and Russia”.
Iran condemned the attacks, with state television reporting that the Ukrainian chargé d’affaires in Tehran was summoned by the foreign ministry to protest what it described as a “hostile and criminal act”.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticised Kyiv over the attack, saying it had killed one sailor and describing it as “a blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war”.
He added that, during separate phone calls with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, he “made clear that what the freeloader in Kyiv did CANNOT GO UNANSWERED”.
Iran’s foreign ministry said the strike caused the vessel to explode, leaving one sailor dead and several others injured, while insisting that the Islamic republic “has never intervened in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine”.
Zelensky’s latest claims are not the first to suggest Russian support for Iran. Earlier reports, including one by CBS News citing a senior US official, alleged that Moscow had been providing intelligence on US military positions in the Middle East.
The allegations have continued to surface in media reports in recent months, with some suggesting China may also have been involved.
During a congressional hearing earlier this week, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged that both Russia and China were assisting Iran, although he declined to elaborate.
“There’s definitely adversary alignment, attempts to do so, and there are many ways that we deter that. And the depth and extent of it ought to remain classified, and it should,” Hegseth said. “But there are ways in which both of those countries are limiting, at different levels, enabling some of the things Iran is doing, yes.”
However, President Donald Trump later contradicted those remarks, saying on Truth Social that he did not believe either Russia or China was helping Iran. Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping had assured him they were not involved.
Reiterating his allegations, Zelensky said Russian satellites closely monitored several US military facilities shortly before Iranian attacks.
“On July 19 and 20 alone, four air bases fell within the area of interest of Russian satellites — two in Bahrain, one in Jordan, and one in Kuwait,” Zelensky wrote.
