Ukraine’s president said Russian satellites monitored American facilities in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait before imagery of those locations allegedly reached Iran and coincided with Iranian attacks.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia on Saturday of providing Iran with satellite imagery of U.S. military installations in the Middle East, alleging that Russian surveillance activity closely tracked Iranian preparations and strikes against American facilities.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had detected sustained Russian monitoring of Gulf countries and U.S. bases since early July. He identified four facilities that were allegedly observed by Russian satellites on July 19 and 20, including two bases in Bahrain, one in Jordan and one in Kuwait.
“Since the beginning of July, we have recorded active Russian satellite surveillance of the Gulf states and U.S. military facilities located there,” Zelenskyy wrote in a July 25 post on X. “These images subsequently appear in Iran.”
The Ukrainian president said the timing of the surveillance suggested that the information was being used for several stages of Iranian military operations, including planning attacks and evaluating the results afterward.
“There is a clear correlation between Russia’s satellite imagery of these sites and Iranian strikes – both before the attacks, in preparation for them, and afterward, to assess the damage inflicted,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine plans to share the intelligence with allied governments, according to Zelenskyy, who said Kyiv had also compiled extensive information about Russia’s military intentions for the fall.
He warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could mobilize additional personnel and deploy more troops as Moscow continues the full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022. Putin said in early June that there was “no point” in conducting peace negotiations over the war.
Zelenskyy’s allegations followed testimony from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth during a July 21 Senate hearing, where lawmakers asked whether Russia or China was assisting the Iranian government.
Hegseth did not disclose classified intelligence or describe specific operations, but he acknowledged efforts toward what he called “adversary alignment.”
“But there are ways in which both of those countries are, at different levels, enabling some of the things Iran is doing,” Hegseth said.
President Donald Trump offered a different assessment several days later, saying the leaders of Russia and China had personally assured him that they were not supplying weapons to Iran.
Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping made that commitment during a recent meeting in Beijing.
“President Xi, at our recent meeting in Beijing, China, told me that he would not, under any circumstances, give or sell Weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran — And that statement included Chinese Companies,” Trump wrote in a July 24 Truth Social post.
Trump said Putin had issued a similar assurance despite the continuing war between Russia and Ukraine.
“Likewise, President Putin, despite the horrible War going on in Ukraine (The relationship remains, as it does with President Zelenskyy), told me that he would not sell Weapons to Iran,” Trump wrote.
The president distinguished direct weapons sales to Iran from the United States’ military support for NATO members, saying American weapons are sold to alliance countries rather than transferred directly to Ukraine.
“They pay full price, and how those Weapons are distributed, I have no idea,” Trump said. “Therefore, two major Countries that people speak of often in terms of Iran are, in my opinion, not participating. If they did, it would be very bad for them — Certainly not in their best interests.”
Zelenskyy’s accusation did not allege that Russia transferred weapons to Iran. Instead, it focused on the possibility that Moscow supplied intelligence capable of helping Tehran identify targets, prepare attacks and measure damage afterward.
Neither Russia nor Iran was reported to have responded to Zelenskyy’s specific claim that Russian satellite imagery of U.S. bases had been delivered to Tehran.
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