Ukraine has rejected Iranian warnings of retaliation after Kyiv targeted what it said were military-linked vessels in the Caspian Sea, in an incident BBC News reported as the first direct connection between the conflicts involving Iran and Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X that Tehran’s threats were “unjustified and groundless”. He accused Iran of supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine by supplying weapons used by Moscow since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had achieved strong results from long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea, including against vessels used to carry military cargo connected to Iran.
Ukraine’s Security Service said its drones had struck an oil platform in the northern Caspian Sea, a Russian missile boat and cargo ships under international sanctions.
Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, told Iran’s state news agency that the ship Anna had been anchored around 5km from the mouth of the Volga River when it was hit. Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, told Israel’s N12 that the vessel was carrying drone and missile components from Iran to Russia, rather than civilian goods.
Iran said one sailor was killed and several people were injured. Its foreign ministry denied intervening in the Russia-Ukraine war. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the strike as a breach of the UN Charter and claimed it had been carried out at Israel’s behest.
Mr Sybiha rejected that claim and accused Iran of trying to divert attention from Russian attacks on ships carrying grain from Ukrainian ports.
The Caspian Sea is a key route between Russia and Iran. Kyiv has long accused Tehran of helping Moscow’s drone campaign against Ukraine, while Russia has used modified versions of Iranian-designed Shahed drones in attacks on Ukrainian cities.
BBC News also reported that Ukraine has been expanding its long-range campaign against Russian oil and logistics assets. Former intelligence official Ivan Stupak told the BBC that disrupting trade routes may be the aim, but warned that a further confrontation with Iran would not benefit Ukraine.
Olha Polishchuk of the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project said the Caspian strike could be viewed less as the opening of a new front against Tehran and more as an attempt to pressure supply networks supporting Russia’s war effort.
