Germany, France and Britain on Tuesday condemned what they said was Iran鈥檚 delivery of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the Ukraine war and declared new sanctions targeting air transport.
鈥榃e will be taking immediate steps to cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran,鈥� they said in a joint statement, adding that they would also 鈥榳ork towards imposing sanctions on Iran Air鈥�.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken had said earlier, on a visit to London, that Russia had received shipments of the ballistic missiles and 鈥榳ill likely use them within weeks in Ukraine鈥�.
London, Paris and Berlin said that 鈥榳e now have confirmation that Iran has made these transfers鈥�.
鈥楾his is a further escalation of Iran鈥檚 military support to Russia鈥檚 war of aggression against Ukraine and will see Iranian missiles reaching European soil, increasing the suffering of the Ukrainian people,鈥� they said.
鈥楾his act is an escalation by both Iran and Russia, and is a direct threat to European security.鈥�
The three countries said they 鈥榳ill be taking immediate steps to cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran鈥�.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has increased its production of weapons this year, prime minister Denys Shmygal said Tuesday as outgunned Ukrainian troops are trying to fend off invading Russian soldiers.
鈥業n the first eight months of 2024, we have doubled our weapons production compared to 2023. We are making progress. Drone production continues to grow,鈥� Shmygal said.
He also said Ukraine planned to build over a million drones by the end of the year.
Ukraine is heavily relying on military support from its allies but has been developing its own arms industry to become less dependent on aid.
As part of these efforts, the Ukrainian military successfully tested a domestically-produced ballistic missile, president Volodymyr Zelensky said last month.
Zelensky also said that his forces had deployed in combat for the first time a Ukrainian-made long-range 鈥榬ocket drone鈥� called Palianytsia.
While developing its own production, Ukraine is still lobbying for sustained aid from allies, including at the Ramstein meeting with key allies in Germany last week.
Zelensky urged quick delivery of the aid promised during the meeting in his daily address on Monday.
鈥楾he course of the war directly depends on the quality of logistics in supply and the fulfullment of all promises by partners,鈥� Zelensky said.
