Ukraine’s Kiev has a Persian word that many Ukrainians apprehensively.
The name of the triangular, explosives-laden, Iranian-designed drones that became a harrowing part of daily life and death in wartime Ukraine is known as Shahed, which was originally spelled as “martyr” or “witness.”
They are now assembled in Yelabuga, a city in the Volga-region of Russia, and go through constant updates to make them faster, smarter, and deadlier with every airstrike that involves hundreds of drones.
Their most recent Russian versions, which were later fatalized in Ukraine earlier this month, include two-way radio communication with human operators, video cameras, and artificial intelligence modules to better identify targets.
In addition to “Moscow” and “Putin,” the word “Shahed” will forever be cursed in Ukrainian, according to Denys Kovalenko, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After a Shahed exploded above his northern Kyiv neighborhood in 2023, Kovalenko’s face and arms were slit by glass fragments.
Shaheds make up the most recognizable and audible component of Moscow-Tehran’s military alliance, which is being tested this month by Israel and the United States against Iran.
Iranian-made ammunition, helmets, and flak jackets are other factors that the alliance has an impact on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to author and expert on Russia-Iran relations Nikita Smagin.
However, Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine took place in 2022, according to Smagin, who described it as the “peak of Iran’s significance for Russia as a military partner.”
The Kremlin has invested tens of billions of dollars in its shadow systems and military-industrial complex to provide chips, machine tools, and other non-waffen-related goods.
As Moscow supplied Tehran with advanced air defense systems, missiles, and warplanes, the flow of military technology frequently turned the other way, causing concern for Israel.
Shimon Peres, the then-Israeli president, stated to this reporter in Moscow in 2009 that his visit was intended to persuade the Kremlin to “reconsider” the sale of S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Tehran.
Iranians were expecting to receive Russia’s cutting-edge Su-35 jets earlier this year, but they were unable to land in Iran.
Russia’s ability to withstand Washington’s airstrikes and slow its advance on the ground has already been impacted by Washington’s arms supply to Israel.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, claimed on June 9 that the White House had decided to divert 20, 000 anti-drone missiles from Kyiv.
In televised remarks, Zelensky said, “We’ll have more losses without the United States’ assistance.”
The Kremlin “counts on this scenario,” according to analyst Smagin, and additional military aid bound for Ukraine may now be diverted to Israel.
The top brass in Ukraine are already alarmed by this potential distraction.
According to Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy head of Ukraine’s general staff of armed forces, “arms will go to the Middle East, so there are no illusions about it.”
He claimed that there should not be any false confidence in Russia’s ability to defend Iran.
Even though Moscow and Tehran praise their strategic partnership, there is no mutual defense clause in place.
Therefore, he said, it will be difficult for the Kremlin to launch a military operation similar to the Russian airstrikes against Syria’s opposition to back then-President Bashar al-Assad’s shaky regime.
Romanenko claimed that “they won’t significantly alter anything.” However, they will have enough for arms purchases.
Any arms sales may irk US President Donald Trump, who has shown unusual leniency toward Moscow’s actions in Ukraine as a result of his administration’s flawed peace negotiations with Moscow.
Some observers said Moscow’s criticism of Israeli and US strikes on Iran sounded hypocritical because its account of the attacks sounded familiar.
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs  stated on Sunday that, “No matter what justifications are used to justify an irresponsible decision to ban missile and bomb attacks on a sovereign state’s territory, [the decision] rudely violates international law, the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions,”
Moscow and Iran are competing for Chinese market share.
Russia and Iran compete for multibillion-dollar oil trade profits to keep their sanctions-hobbled economies afloat in a certain area.
Russia and Iran compete for China’s market, according to Smagin, and China will have to pay higher prices for Russian oil.
The Strait of Hormuz, a constricting channel between Iran and Oman that is entirely governed by Tehran’s “mosquito fleet” of tiny warships, accounts for one-fifth of the world’s oil exports.
If Tehran decides to close the strait to tankers, crude prices will skyrocket all over the world. Additionally, it would provide Russia with a financial gimmick that would allow it to fund the Ukrainian conflict.
And as Russia’s conflict with Ukraine results in the most damage to its reputation in the Middle East.
Russia suffers a lot from reputation because it runs the risk of not being viewed as a powerful country in the Middle East, Smagin said.
Washington’s focus on Iran and Israel could turn out disastrous for Kyiv if Tehran rejects Trump’s “ultimate ultimatum” to reach a peace deal.
