KYIV: Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Saturday it was deeply concerned by reports about a possible impending transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia. In a statement emailed to reporters, the ministry said the deepening military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow was a threat to Ukraine, Europe and the Middle East, and called on the international community to increase pressure on Iran and Russia.

CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, citing unidentified sources. Reuters reported in August that Russia was expecting the imminent delivery of hundreds of Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles from Iran and that dozens of Russian military personnel were being trained in Iran on the satellite-guided weapons for eventual use in the war in Ukraine. On Friday, the United States, a key ally of Ukraine, also voiced concern about the potential transfer of missiles. “Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said. Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York said on Friday that Tehran’s position on the Ukraine conflict was unchanged. — Reuters

“Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict - which leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiations - to be inhumane,” it said. “Thus, not only does Iran abstain from engaging in such actions itself, but it also calls upon other countries to cease the supply of weapons to the sides involved in the conflict.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones hit a munitions depot in the Russian region of Voronezh overnight, a Ukrainian security source said on Saturday, adding that Kyiv believed the depot was being used to transfer munitions and equipment to Ukraine. Alexander Gusev, the province’s Russian governor, said in a statement on Telegram that “explosive objects” had detonated after a fire in the region’s Ostorogozhsky district.

He said there had been no casualties, but that a state of emergency had been declared locally, with several hundred people evacuated and a major road closed. The Ukrainian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the operation was conducted by the SBU, Ukraine’s internal security service. “At this moment, there are still four pockets of a powerful fire observed at the site, as well as the unceasing detonation of munitions,” the source said.

The source said the facility was in the village of Soldatskoe. That settlement is nearly 80 miles (130 km) from the nearest Ukraine-controlled territory. Ukraine, which is restricted by some of its Western allies from using their missiles on Russian territory, has built up a stock of domestically produced long-range drones, some capable of hitting targets over 1,000 km (621 miles) away. — Reuters