Did Russia Help Iran Target US Bases? Zelenskyy’s Explosive Claim Raises Global Alarm

Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed in an interview with NBC News during his visit to Qatar that before Iran's attack on the US Air Base Prince Sultan in Saudi Arabia, Russian satellites had taken pictures of the base. Many American soldiers were injured in this attack. At least six ballistic missiles and 29 drones were fired in the March 27 attack, injuring more than 12 American soldiers and damaging several American refueling aircraft. 

Has Zelensky directly accused Russia?

Zelensky said he is "100 percent" sure that Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran. "I don't believe—I know they share information. Do they help the Iranians? Absolutely. How many percent? One hundred percent," he said. Zelensky made another big revelation — Russia tried to "blackmail" America. According to him, Moscow told Washington that if America stops providing intelligence to Ukraine, it will stop providing information to Iran.

Is there evidence of preparations for the attack found in satellite images?

On March 26, Iran attacked the same target. Zelensky also reported that on March 24, Russian satellites took pictures of the US-UK joint military base on Chagos Island in the Indian Ocean, Kuwait International Airport, and the Greater Burgan oil field. On March 26, Saudi Arabia's Shaiba oil and gas field, Turkey's Incirlik airbase and Qatar's Al-Udeid airbase were also targeted. 

Has Russia denied these allegations?

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov acknowledged in an interview with French television that Moscow has a military-technical cooperation agreement with Iran and military equipment has been provided under it. But he rejected the allegation of intelligence sharing, saying, "Iran does not need us, because it itself has accurate information about American bases in the Gulf." 

Is Zelensky trying to garner the support of the Gulf countries?

Zelensky visited Gulf countries this week and signed defense deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Under these 10-year agreements, Ukraine will provide its technical expertise in drones and air defense systems and in return will receive "billions of dollars" of investments from these countries. Zelensky said, "We have developed our own system to combat Iranian Shahed drones. Today no one can help as much as Ukraine in terms of this expertise."

Could the conflict in West Asia influence the Ukraine war?

Zelensky expressed concern that the US stockpile of missile interceptors in the Middle East is rapidly depleting. He said supplies to Ukraine had not yet been disrupted, but it would be "a mistake" to divert interceptors destined for the Gulf to Ukraine. He said, "I am very worried. I hope America will not make such a mistake."