Iranian ambassador expelled from Kiev for providing drones to Russia
Ukraine has alleged that Russia is using Iran-made drones in the ongoing war. For this reason, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered to reduce the number of Iranian embassy officials, including the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador in Kiev. However, Tehran denied this allegation. In the meantime, Moscow has announced an increase in defense spending to prolong the campaign.
The use of drones has been discussed since the beginning of the Ukraine war. Kiev has accused Russia of using powerful Iranian-made drones to carry out the attack. In a statement, referring to Iran's 'unfriendly' behavior, Ukrainian President Zelensky announced the expulsion of Iran's ambassador to Kiev.
In addition to taking away the accreditation card of the Iranian ambassador, he also gave instructions to reduce the number of diplomats in the Iranian embassy in Kiev. However, in the meantime, Kiev has claimed to shoot down several Iranian-made drones, including Shahed-One Thirty-Six and Mohajer Six.
Ukraine also accused Iran of violating its neutrality by arming Moscow. However, Tehran directly rejected this allegation. Earlier, the United States accused Iran of selling drones to Russia last July.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced an increase in defense spending to prolong the campaign. He announced to increase the budget for the defense sector by 43 percent and law enforcement by 40 percent compared to the previous year. In addition, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the expenditure of 34 lakh crore rubles in the defense and security sector in the next four years.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia spends three-quarters of its annual total military expenditure on defense. 3.3 percent of the country's total GDP is spent on defense, the second highest expenditure of the Russian government after social programs.
