NEW: Ukraine Carries Out Strikes Against Iranian Targets As Conflict Widens
Ukraine carried out a sequence of long-range drone strikes within the Caspian Sea on Saturday focusing on vessels and different belongings that Ukrainian officers described as linked to army cargo transport between Iran and Russia. The operation shaped a part of a broader set of in a single day strikes by Ukrainian forces towards targets in a number of areas of Russia.
“We additionally achieved very sturdy outcomes with lengthy‑vary strikes within the Caspian Sea – together with vessels utilized in army cargo shipments involving Iran, in addition to a warship,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced in an announcement.
Ukraine’s Safety Service (SBU) reported that its drones struck the Filanovsky offshore oil platform operated by Russia’s Lukoil, the sanctioned cargo vessels Port Olya 2 and Begey, and a Russian Venture 12418 Molniya missile boat. The SBU said that each Port Olya 2 and Begey had been used to move army cargo between Iran and Russia and had been topic to sanctions imposed by the USA, the UK, Canada, and Ukraine.
It additional famous that Begey frequently referred to as at Iran’s Amirabad Port, which Ukrainian authorities recognized as a part of a logistics chain for transferring Iranian-made assault drones to Russia.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, later mentioned in an interview that one of many vessels contained elements for drones and missiles and described it as a respectable army goal. “The ship we attacked within the Caspian Sea contained elements for drones and missiles that had been on their approach to Iran – not civilian cargo, as Iran claimed. This isn’t the primary time we now have hit such army targets, and naturally, we are able to count on to hit them once more. It is a respectable army goal, in our view,” Korniychuk said.
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Ukraine broadcasts it has struck a number of vessels within the Caspian Sea that had been used to move army cargo between Russia & Iran.
Appears to be like just like the cargo ships Port Olya 2 & Begey had been hit
Iranian regime propaganda channels now threaten to strike Ukraine with ballistic missiles pic.twitter.com/twamJF2LTz
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 25, 2026
Iran’s Overseas Ministry responded by claiming the assault was unlawful and hinted at retaliation. “The Ministry of Overseas Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the Ukrainian regime’s assault on an Iranian business vessel within the Caspian Sea within the early hours of Saturday, 25 July, which resulted in an explosion aboard the ship, killing one sailor and injuring one other. This act constitutes a violation of Article 2(4) of the Constitution of the United Nations and quantities to an act of aggression that might additional inflame and broaden the continuing battle,” they mentioned.
The ministry added that Iran had by no means intervened within the Russia-Ukraine battle and referred to as on the United Nations Safety Council, European nations, and all UN member states to carry Ukraine accountable. It said that duty for penalties would relaxation with the Ukrainian management and its supporters. Iran additionally summoned Ukraine’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to convey a protest.
The Ukrainian operation occurred after a interval of sustained United States army exercise towards Iran. Following the breakdown of a memorandum of understanding signed by the USA and Iran on June 17, which had established a ceasefire and a 60-day window for negotiations, the USA carried out strikes on Iranian targets for 13 consecutive nights.
These strikes adopted repeated Iranian ceasefire violations, together with assaults on business vessels.
President Donald Trump had indicated consideration of additional motion, stating that he was reviewing a “large assault” described as bigger in scale than earlier operations. Nonetheless, the USA finally paused strikes on Saturday afternoon, as Trump said that Iran wish to resume negations.
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