Russia assisting Iran's Islamic regime, Zelensky says after Ukrainian attack on ship

The Ukrainian President said Russian satellite surveillance is being given to Iranian authorities with a clear correlation between the intel and subsequent Iranian strikes in Gulf states.Follow us on GoogleUkraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, March 25, 2026.(photo credit: REUTERS/VALENTYN OGIRENKO/FILE PHOTO)BySETH J. FRANTZMANJULY 26, 2026 13:30Updated: JULY 26, 2026 15:02Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of assisting the Iranian regime on Saturday after Iran threatened Ukraine with potential missile attacks in response to an attack on a ship in the Caspian Sea.It is not the first time the Russia-Iran partnership has been highlighted; Russia and Iran have been working together for decades. “I will instruct our intelligence to share with our partners the information we have regarding Russia’s new assistance to the Iranian regime," Zelensky wrote on X/Twitter on Saturday. "Since the beginning of July, we have recorded active Russian satellite surveillance of the Gulf states and US military facilities located there.”"These images subsequently appear in Iran. At the same time, there is a clear correlation between Russia’s satellite imagery of these sites and Iranian strikes - both before the attacks, in preparation for them, and afterward, to assess the damage inflicted," he added.“On July 19 and 20 alone, four air bases fell within the area of interest of Russian satellites - two in Bahrain, one in Jordan, and one in Kuwait," the Ukrainian leader went on to say. "The purpose is clear. None of us in the world should turn a blind eye to one very simple fact: evil always seeks ways to make things worse and spread further. Russia must be stopped. This war must be stopped. Pressure on the aggressor must work.”Navy ships of Iran and Azerbaijan move during an exercise between Iran and Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea. (credit: Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)'The two wars have officially merged'Yaroslav Trofimov, Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent of the Wall Street Journal, gave his opinion as well."The two wars have officially merged. Iran says a Ukrainian drone attack on its ship in the Caspian has killed a sailor. Ukraine earlier said it was targeting vessels ferrying arms between Russia and Iran on the Caspian Sea,” he said.The two wars he refers to are the US strikes on Iran and the war in Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and the US and Israel carried out attacks on Iran beginning in February 2026.Part of the merging of the conflicts is the claim by Zelensky that Ukraine targeted a ship transporting Iranian military items to Russia.“We also achieved very strong results with long‑range strikes in the Caspian Sea - including vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship,” he said. Iran claimed that the Ukrainian attack killed a sailor on the ship.According to the pro-government Tehran Times, Iran strongly condemned “Ukraine's attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea.” The report said that Iran’s foreign ministry “condemned Ukraine's attack early Saturday on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, which resulted in the explosion of the ship, the martyrdom of one sailor, and injury to another.”Iran claims a right to self-defense after Caspian Sea attackIt went on to say that “the attack - acknowledged by Ukrainian officials - constitutes a clear violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and an act of aggression that risks further expanding regional conflict. Tehran, which has never interfered in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calls on the UN Security Council and European nations to hold the Ukrainian regime accountable for this criminal act.”Iran says it has a right to self-defense after this attack, though the country has been supplying Russia with drones throughout the conflict with Ukraine.Iran and Russia are close partners on other military and economic issues. In May, The New York Times noted that the Caspian was becoming increasingly important amid the Iran conflict.“The landlocked body of water has taken on new significance, with Russia shipping military and commercial goods to bolster Tehran’s ability to withstand the US assault.”Follow us on Google