Iran secretly handed Russia hundreds of thousands of shells, - Sky News
Iran secretly supplied Russia with hundreds of thousands of bullets, rockets and mortar shells for the war against Ukraine.
As reported by Censor.NET with reference to Sky News.
According to the publication's source, two Russian-flagged cargo ships left an Iranian port in January, heading to Russia via the Caspian Sea. They carried approximately 100 million bullets and about 300 thousand shells. It is reported that the ships also had ammunition for MLRS, mortars, and machine guns. It is noted that the Russian Federation paid for the ammunition in cash.
The publication's source also reported that the two cargo ships, which probably took part in the transportation of ammunition from Iran to Russia, are named Musa Jalil and Begey. Both sail under the Russian flag.
One of the ships reportedly left Iran on or about January 10, and the other on or about January 12. According to the source, both ships were transporting about 200 transport containers filled with weapons. Investigations by Sky News' data and forensics department confirmed the general claim of the ships moving, although the dates varied slightly. Journalists were unable to independently check what exactly the ships were transporting.
The marine tracker MarineTraffic recorded two ships in the Iranian port of Amirabad in the Caspian Sea on January 9. Satellite images from the next day showed at least one of the vessels still in port. According to marine tracking data, the Musa Jalil left the port around 10:00 a.m. local time on January 10 and the Begey on the same day. On January 12, both ships stopped off the coast of Turkmenistan for several days. The reason for the stop is unknown. The ships then crossed the Caspian Sea and arrived in the Russian port of Astrakhan on January 27. According to tracking data, they remained in port for several days before leaving on February 3.
The security source did not confirm the name of the port in Iran from which the two ships left, nor the port in Russia where they arrived. However, it confirmed that the ships were heading to Russia via the Caspian Sea.
"Iran sent two cargo ships to the war zone in Ukraine, carrying approximately 200 new transport containers containing ammunition for Russian military operations in Ukraine," the source said.
According to sources, on board the ships were:
- approximately 100 million bullets of various sizes used by the occupiers in pistols, assault rifles, and machine guns;
- grenades for grenade launchers;
- anti-tank missiles and mortar shells of various sizes;
- artillery rockets;
- approximately 10,000 body armor and helmets.
Also remind, that earlier it was reported that Russia is afraid to buy Iranian ballistic missiles because in this case, the USA threatens to provide Ukraine with ATACMS.
