KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced a bill proposing additional sanctions against Iran for 50 years.
The draft comes after Russia’s Iran-made massive drone attack against Kyiv overnight, the largest since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said Sunday the bill is a response to what Kyiv says is Tehran’s weapons supplies to Moscow.
The draft includes a complete ban on trade with Iran, on investments, and transferring technologies.
If the bill becomes law, Ukraine will forbid Iranian transit across the Ukrainian territory as well as use of its airspace and freeze Iranian assets.
Kyiv and its allies say Iran has been supplying Russia with arms, including hundreds of drones, since Moscow invaded Ukraine last year. Tehran rejects the allegations.
Initially, Iran denied supplying Shahed drones to Russia but later said it had provided a small number before the conflict began. Ukraine has said Russia has used the drones in major attacks on cities and infrastructure.
Overnight Saturday, Russia launched the “most massive attack” on the city with Iranian-made Shahed drone, said Serhii Popko, a senior Kyiv military official. The attack lasted more than five hours, with air defense reportedly shooting down 52 out of 54 drones, demonstrating Ukraine’s air defense capability.
(VOA)
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