Russia is helping Iran hit US bases, says Zelensky

Ukraine’s president says Russia is supplying Iran with satellite intelligence on US bases in the Middle East.

By World Israel News Staff

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of supplying Iran with satellite imagery of US military facilities in the Middle East, saying Ukrainian intelligence had identified a pattern connecting Russian surveillance with subsequent Iranian attacks.

Zelensky said Saturday that Kyiv would share its findings with the US and other partners as evidence of what he described as Moscow’s expanding support for Tehran.

According to the Ukrainian leader, Russian satellites have conducted active surveillance over Gulf countries and US military sites since the beginning of July.

“These images subsequently appear in Iran,” Zelensky said.

He said that Russian satellites observed locations before Iranian attacks, apparently to help prepare them, and returned afterward to assess the resulting damage.

Zelensky said that on July 19 and 20, Russian satellites focused on four air bases — two in Bahrain, one in Jordan and one in Kuwait.

“The purpose is clear,” he said. “Russia must be stopped. This war must be stopped.”

Zelensky did not publicly release the evidence supporting his latest allegations, but said Ukrainian intelligence would provide the information directly to allied governments.

The accusations add to previous reports that Moscow has been supplying Tehran with surveillance data and other forms of military assistance during the war involving Iran, the US and Israel.

A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reviewed by Reuters in April said Russian satellites conducted at least 24 surveys of 46 military installations, airports, oil facilities and other sites in 11 Middle Eastern countries between March 21 and March 31.

The assessment said Iranian missiles and drones struck several of the surveyed locations within days of the Russian satellite passes.

Western and regional security officials also reported unusually intense Russian satellite activity over the Middle East and said intelligence indicated that some of the imagery was transferred to Iran.

One reported incident involved Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. According to the Ukrainian assessment, a Russian satellite surveyed the base several days before an Iranian attack damaged a US E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft. A Russian satellite reportedly passed over the site again the following day.

The assessment also alleged that Russian and Iranian cyber groups were cooperating against critical infrastructure and telecommunications systems in Israel and Gulf countries.

Russia has not publicly provided a detailed response to Zelensky’s latest accusations. The Kremlin recently declined to comment on separate reports that US intelligence officials were investigating possible Russian assistance in Iranian attacks.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge some degree of Russian and Chinese assistance to Iran during congressional testimony earlier in the week, although he declined to reveal classified details.

“There’s definitely adversary alignment,” Hegseth said.

He added that Russia and China were, “at different levels, enabling some of the things Iran is doing.”

Hegseth’s comments contrasted with President Donald Trump’s public assessment. Trump said he believed assurances from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping that their countries were not assisting Iran.

“Therefore, two major Countries that people speak of often in terms of Iran are, in my opinion, not participating,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump warned, however, that it would be “very bad for them” if either government entered the war on Iran’s side.

US officials have said any foreign help received by Iran has not prevented American forces from carrying out their operations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously said there was nothing Russia was doing that was affecting the effectiveness of the US campaign.

European officials have been more outspoken. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said there were grounds to believe Russia was supporting Iranian operations against American targets, while European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas accused Moscow of helping Iran target and kill Americans.

Military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran has grown considerably since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ukraine and Western governments have accused Iran of providing Russia with Shahed attack drones and the technology needed to manufacture them domestically. Russia has used large numbers of the drones in attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

Iran has acknowledged selling drones to Russia before the invasion but denies supplying weapons for use in the war.

Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in January 2025. The agreement calls for the two countries’ intelligence and security agencies to exchange information and experience in response to shared threats.

Western officials have also investigated whether Russia helped Iran improve the accuracy and resistance to electronic jamming of its attack drones.

The latest accusation came as relations between Ukraine and Iran deteriorated further over Ukrainian operations in the Caspian Sea. Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had struck a Russian warship and vessels used to transport military cargo linked to Iran.

Iran accused Ukraine of attacking an Iranian commercial vessel, killing one sailor and injuring another, and summoned the Ukrainian chargé d’affaires in Tehran to protest what it called a “hostile and criminal” act.