Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Iranian drones show defects on the battlefield in Ukraine

| updated on 9/1/22 1:56 PM
Photo: ru.irna.ir

Iran has delivered the first batch of drones to Russia, but they are apparently defective, DW writes, quoting the Washington Post. According to the American edition, which refers to sources from the secret services, as early as August 19, the Russians received two types of Iranian drones for the war in Ukraine. These drones are of the Mohajer-6 and Shahed-series models, and Russian transport machines loaded them at an Iranian airport and transported them to Russia. They can fire at radar installations, artillery positions and other military sites. However, the source reports that already during the first test flights, the Russian armed forces found a number of defects.

Until now, Iranian drones have enjoyed a good reputation, especially after they were able to penetrate the US-made air defenses of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The American sources report that the technical problems started with the delivery of the drones, which is one of the reasons why Russian drone operators are trained in Iran.
It is the use of drones to direct artillery fire that has helped the Ukrainian army fare better in these battles, Russian military experts admit.
Meanwhile, fighting in the Donbass continues, and Kyiv has sharply criticized the lack of unanimity among European countries regarding the visa regime for Russians. On August 31, EU foreign ministers agreed to suspend the 2007 visa liberalization agreement with Russia but they did not agree on a general ban on issuing Russian visas. Bulgaria, as part of the EU, has agreed to ending the visa facilitation agreement with Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Kostadin Kodzhabashev said. Passports issued from the occupied territories will not be recognized, Deputy Minister Kodzhabashev said further. 
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said the decision would not be without consequences.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Boyko Borissov

Bulgaria could face fuel shortages if Lukoil stops operating, says GERB leader Borissov

Bulgaria could run into fuel shortages if the Lukoil Neftochim refinery stops operating, former Prime Minister and GERB leader Boyko Borissov warned on Thursday. Prime Minister: Bulgaria has a month to decide how to proceed after US sanctions on..

published on 10/23/25 2:13 PM

Prime Minister: Bulgaria has a month to decide how to proceed after US sanctions on Lukoil

Bulgaria has until 21 November to decide how to proceed with the Lukoil Neftochim refinery, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said on Thursday ahead of a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels. He was apparently referring to the end of a US Treasury..

published on 10/23/25 1:57 PM

The Bulgarian army will gradually make up for its personnel shortage

The Bulgaria army will make up for the lack of personnel but not immediately. For 2025, we have money to hire only 1,000 new soldiers, said Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov before the relevant parliamentary committee.  The committee supported the..

published on 10/23/25 11:32 AM