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Report nowThe war in the Middle East is also having an impact on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow and Kiev are feeling the consequences in different ways.
The war in Iran is currently overshadowing the fighting in Ukraine. Even if Moscow and Kiev are not directly involved in the conflict in the Middle East, the events there have a very real impact on the warring parties. These are the most important questions and answers on the consequences of the attacks by the USA and Israel against Iran on the war in Ukraine.
Iran was particularly important in the first years of the war as a weapons supplier in the Ukraine war. Moscow, which had overslept the development of drones, received Shahed combat drones from Tehran from summer 2022. Iranians trained Russian soldiers to use them. The country later helped to set up drone production in Russia.
Iranian deliveries also included cartridges and artillery ammunition and - according to media reports - even missiles from 2024. In 2025, the two sides concluded a "strategic partnership", with around a third of the 47-paragraph agreement dedicated to cooperation in military, armaments and security. The exact scope of the mutual arms deliveries remains unclear.
At the very least, the strategic partnership does not provide for any obligatory military intervention by Russia on Iran's side. However, shortly before the attack by the USA and Israel, Russian arms deliveries to Iran are said to have increased.
According to Nikita Smagin, author of a blog by the US think tank Carnegie, these are not decisive for the war. These deliveries are also likely to be insignificant for the war in Ukraine, as Moscow has already subordinated everything else to the needs of the front.
While Russia has politically condemned the attacks by the USA and Israel, it is likely to benefit economically. Oil and gas prices have risen dramatically due to the uncertainty in the Middle East. Russia could also increase export volumes - for exports to China, India or Turkey, for example.
This is good for the Russian budget, which is suffering from a high deficit - more than a quarter of the planned revenue comes from the sale of fossil fuels. This would also give Russia more funds to finance its war. This is because almost 40 percent of the budget is spent on the military, armaments and national security.
Vladimir Putin can look forward to an unexpected bonus for his war chest: due to the Iran war, the prices for oil and gas, Russia's most important export goods, are rising.
IMAGO/ZUMA Press
In Kiev, there is a fear of losing important support if the war with Iran drags on. "Yes, there is no doubt that this question worries us, and that is why we are in contact with our partners," said President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Monday. There have been phone calls with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
In addition to financial support, this concerns in particular the important deliveries of anti-aircraft missiles, which are also needed in the Gulf for the US Patriot systems. The Ukrainian air defense system has previously used these to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles. According to information from Kiev, delays in supplies had devastating consequences in January.
Following the start of Iranian drone attacks on the Gulf states, Zelensky suggested sending Ukrainian drone defense experts to the Persian Gulf. However, he made a ceasefire in Ukraine a prerequisite for this. In his view, the Gulf monarchies should use their good relations with Russia to achieve this. However, his initiatives have so far come to nothing.
"When we talk about weapons in war, for example, which we have a shortage of, these are PAC-3 interceptor missiles (for Patriot systems), and if they give us these, we give them interceptor drones. It's an equal exchange," Selensky said a few days ago. In view of the threat posed by Iranian ballistic missiles in the Gulf, however, this is a proposal that is unlikely to be taken up.
The acts of war in the Gulf are also inconvenient for the talks on ending the war in Ukraine, which have been going on for weeks. Negotiators last met in Geneva and before that in Abu Dhabi. It is not yet known when and where the talks might continue. The USA, as the previous mediator in the Ukraine negotiations, is still desired by both sides, but is now also preoccupied with its war.
According to statements by Zelensky, the next round of trilateral talks with Russia and the USA should take place on Thursday or Friday in Abu Dhabi. In view of the security situation in the United Arab Emirates, the Kremlin has already turned it down.
Moscow also rejected the alternative in Geneva due to Switzerland's "insufficient neutrality" and probably also the difficult logistics. European airspace is still closed to Russian aircraft and special flights would have to be negotiated.
