Ukraine approves sanctions against Russian ally Iran
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00:00 lawmakers have passed sanctions legislation against Iran, a law that is set to remain
00:05 in place for 50 years. So why is Kiev doing this and what kind of impact will it have?
00:10 To find out more, we are joined on the set by our chief foreign editor, Robert Parsons.
00:14 Rob, let's start with these Ukrainian sanctions. What's it all about?
00:17 Well, we've just been watching that report there from Gulliver in Kiev. That's what it's
00:22 all about. It's the fact that these Iranian drones are being used by the Russians to devastating
00:27 effect in Ukraine. Many people have been killed. A lot of damage has been done to infrastructure.
00:33 Twelve hundred plus Iranian drones, according to the Ukrainians, have been used in their
00:39 country by the Russians over the last year. And we've seen this this month has witnessed
00:45 a big intensification of the use of drones by the Russians. At least 18 waves of attacks
00:51 since the beginning of May. And over the last 24 hours, we've seen three waves of attacks.
00:56 We heard Gulliver again reporting on the damage that was done overnight. Thirty one drones,
01:01 apparently most of them, 29 were shot down. But there were other missiles, cruise missiles
01:08 and ballistic missiles used. But it's the drones that the Ukrainians are focusing on
01:14 because it's increasingly to the drones that the Russians have been focusing. President
01:19 Zelensky made an appeal to the Iranians last week when he said, what is the benefit to
01:24 Iran of such cynical killing by Russian hands? But with your weapons, your Shahad's mean
01:29 only that the people of Iran are being driven deeper into the dark side of history, to which
01:34 the Iranians said that Zelensky was putting on a political show and that his claims were
01:40 empty. He responded to that by putting this bill to the Dyarhov Novoda, the Ukrainian
01:49 parliament, which was passed, which imposes sanctions for the next 50 years on Iran. So
01:56 that will involve no transit for Iranian goods through Iran or through Ukraine or through
02:04 its airspace, sanctions on trade, tech, finance, the ban on Ukrainian investment on Iran and
02:14 the ban of the transfer of military and dual purpose goods, civilian or military, to Iran
02:22 as well. Is this going to have a big impact on Iran? Probably not. You know, the EU, the
02:28 US and others already have sanctions in place. It hasn't had that big an impact on Iran's
02:33 behaviour. And there's no doubt, too, that Iran will continue to use its link across
02:39 the Caspian Sea. Very convenient because NATO doesn't have access to it. US doesn't have
02:44 access to it to transport from the port of Amirabad in the south to Astrakhan in the
02:49 southern part of Russia. As many drones as the Russians are happy today. Now, of course,
02:55 this is all happening as Russia stepping up its drone attacks on Ukraine. They're heavier.
02:59 They're coming more frequently. What's behind this shift in tactics? Well, partly is that
03:03 they're cheap. The Russians have spent an enormous amount of money to little gain by
03:11 attacking Ukraine with ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. Some of these missiles
03:16 cost over a million euros apiece. It's a lot of money. And as we've seen over the last
03:22 few months, the attempt to completely destroy Ukrainian infrastructure or to destroy it
03:27 to such an extent that the population would stop supporting their country's resistance
03:32 to Russia has failed dismally. Drones are much cheaper to use, a fraction of the cost.
03:40 They're not necessarily terribly effective in ones and twos and threes. But when you
03:45 send them in waves, even if 85 per cent, as is frequently the case, get shot down, if
03:51 15 per cent get through, that's still damage that's being done. I think the Russians, too,
03:56 are thinking of the psychological impact that these constant waves of attacks are having
04:00 on the Ukrainians, but also thinking, too, about what it takes on the Ukrainian side
04:06 to prevent those drones getting through. In other words, Ukraine has to use its air defence
04:10 to shoot down those drones. That means using up their own missile supply. And with a counter-offensive
04:15 coming up soon in which air defence will be critical for the Ukrainians, that's a big
04:20 consideration.
04:21 All right, Rob. Thanks for that.
04:22 Rest24's Rob Parsons.
04:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]