Ukraine LIVE: Putin modifies Iranian drones for cold weather to hit cities across Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has launched Iranian drone strikes on Ukrainian cities for the first time in three weeks after ordering them to be modified to operate in freezing temperatures. There had been no attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) since November 17, with experts suggesting it was because the Shahed-136 drones could not operate in the cold weather.

However, a report published by the Institute for the Study of War think tank cited Ukrainian Air Force Command Spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat as stating attacks had resumed yesterday.

Mr Ilnat “suggested that Russian forces had faced complications using the drones due to icing issues in colder weather”.

The report added: “Ukrainian Southern Command Spokesperson Natalia Humenyuk stated on December 7 that Russian forces resumed the use of the Iranian-made drones intending to exhaust Ukrainian air defences in various areas of activity and open areas of the front in Ukraine.

“Russian and Ukrainian sources reported that Russian forces deployed Shahed-136 drones in attacks on Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Zhytomyr, and Zaporizhia Oblasts.”

It was likely drone attacks against Ukraine would be stepped up in the next few weeks, the report warned.

The ISW had previously said Russian forces are increasingly reliant on Iranian-made weapon systems due to the depletion of the Russian military’s high-precision weapons arsenal.

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