Iran secretly supplied a large number of bullets, rockets and mortar shells to Russia for the war in Ukraine and plans to send more. It is reported by Sky News, citing a source in the security services..

According to him, two Russian-flagged cargo ships Musa Jalil and Begey left the Iranian port in January, heading to Russia through the Caspian Sea.. They were transporting about 100 million bullets and about 300,000 rounds for MLRS, mortars and machine guns in 200 containers.. The bullets were of different calibers - 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, 9 mm, 12.7 mm and 14.5 mm - for use with pistols, machine guns and machine guns. Among the shells were 40 mm grenades for grenade launchers, 107 mm anti-tank rockets and mortar shells of various sizes - 60 mm, 81 mm and 120 mm, as well as artillery rockets (130 mm, 122 mm and 152 mm) and armored and 125 mm. And there were about 10,000 bulletproof vests and helmets on board.. Russia paid for all this in cash, bypassing sanctions.

General Richard Barrons, a former senior British military officer, said that the 300,000 round replenishment from Iran, while beneficial to Russia, would not be long-term given the rate of fire..

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Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Vadim Prystaiko, said Western sanctions are affecting Russia's ability to use its defense industry to resupply quickly enough, but more work is needed to close other routes..

“We still have to actively pursue the Iranians and the rest of these regimes so that they stop supplies to the Russians to fuel this war in Ukraine,” Prystaiko said..

It was not possible to independently verify the amount of alleged military assistance.. One expert warned that the amount could be quite high.

The Ministry of Defense of Russia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, as well as the owners of ships that could transport weapons to the Russian Federation, did not respond to a request from journalists.

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Earlier it was reported that Russia is in no hurry to buy ballistic missiles from Iran. Moscow fears the West's reaction to such an agreement with Tehran. At the same time, Iranian drones in Russia are running out, but the Russians are asking Iran to sell more.