Iran has secretly supplied large quantities of bullets, rockets and mortar shells to Russia for the war in Ukraine and plans to send more, a security source has told Sky News.
The source claimed that two Russian-flagged cargo ships departed an Iranian port in January bound for Russia via the Caspian Sea, carrying approximately 100 million bullets and around 300,000 shells.
Ammunition for rocket launchers, mortars and machine guns was allegedly included in the shipments.
The source said Moscow paid for the ammunition in cash.
It was not possible to independently verify the volume of the alleged military assistance. One expert cautioned that the amount sounded high.
However, Sky News understands it is suspected that Iran has been shipping an amount of ammunition to Russia to help replenish its stocks on the frontline in Ukraine.
“Russia continues to use Iran as a ‘rear base’,” the security source said, describing the close military ties between the two countries.
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Western and Ukrainian officials have also warned that Iran might supply far deadlier ballistic missiles but there has been no evidence of that happening yet.
As well as the Iranian support, concern is growing in western capitals about the potential for China to start supplying Russia with weapons – a move that the United States has warned would have “severe consequences” for Beijing. China has denied the claims.
The ‘secret’ cargo ships
The security source said the two general cargo ships allegedly involved in transferring ammunition from Iran to Russia were called the Musa Jalil and the Begey.
Both sail under the Russian flag.
Image: The Russian cargo ship ‘Musa Jalil’. Picture taken in 2014 by S Melnikov
Sky News has approached the owner of the ships in Russia for comment on the claims but has so far not received a reply.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence and Iran’s Foreign Ministry have also yet to respond to a request for comment.
The source said one of the ships is thought to have departed Iran on around 10 January and the other on around 12 January.
Between them, the two vessels were thought to be carrying about 200 shipping containers filled with weaponry, according to the source.
The source said they were confident in their assessment of the amount of ammunition that was being transported.
“Two hundred containers on two ships are capable of carrying this amount of munitions,” the source added.
Image: The Russian cargo ship ‘Begey’. Archive picture taken by Giwrgos Mertis
What the marine tracking data tells us
Research by Sky News’ Data & Forensics Unit supported the general claim about the movement of the ships, though the dates slightly differed.
It was not possible to independently verify what was being transported by the vessels.
Maritime shipping tracker MarineTraffic placed the two ships at the Iranian port of Amirabad on the Caspian Sea on 9 January. Satellite imagery from the following day obtained by Sky News shows at least one of the ships still at the port.
Image: This satellite image obtained by Sky News shows at least one of the ships, the Musa Jalil, in the Iranian port before it leaves for Russia
According to the maritime tracking data, the Musa Jalil left the port at around 10am local time on 10 January, while the Begey departed on the same day.
Image: The Musa Jalil and Begey are seen in the tracking data heading away from the Iranian coast towards Russia. Pic – MarineTraffic
On 12 January, again according to the tracking data, both ships stop off the coast of Turkmenistan for a couple of days. The reason for this is not known.
The Musa Jalil and the Begey then travelled across the Caspian Sea, arriving at the Russian port of Astrakhan on 27 January. They remained at the port for several days before leaving on 3 February, according to the tracking data.
Image: Both Russian ships can be seen in Astrakhan Port in Russia in this satellite image from 2 February. They go on to leave the port in the next 24 hours
Image: The ships are clearly visible in the Russian port in these zoomed in satellite images
The security source did not confirm the name of the port in Iran that the two ships left from, nor which port in Russia they arrived at.
The source did confirm that the ships travelled to Russia via the Caspian Sea.
“Iran sent two cargo ships to the combat zone in Ukraine, carrying approximately 200 new shipping containers that contained ammunition for the Russian fighting in Ukraine,” the security source said.
Image: Map showing the locations of the two ships on satellite images obtained by Sky News
What’s in the cargo?
The source listed the alleged cargo as comprising approximately 100 million bullets of varying sizes – 5.56mm, 7.62mm, 9mm, 12.7mm and 14.5mm – to be used in weapons such pistols, assault rifles and machine guns.
The ships were also carrying a range of other ammunition, the source said, including approximately 300,000 shells, such as 40mm grenades for grenade launchers, 107mm anti-tank rockets, and mortar shells of different sizes – 60mm, 81mm and 120mm – as well as artillery rockets (130mm, 122mm and 152mm) and armour shells (115mm and 125mm).
In addition, the source said there were close to 10,000 flak jackets and helmets on board.
“Russia pays for the ammunition in cash and by doing so, bypasses the western sanctions on it, ignoring the sanctions on Iran,” the source added.
Asked about the claims, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK said he was not surprised that Iran was allegedly supplying ammunition to Russia and said he expected there would be more such support, but he urged the Islamic Republic to stop being on the “wrong side of history”.
Vadym Prystaiko told Sky News the fact that Russia has to ask what he dubbed a “coalition of weak nations” such as Iran and North Korea for help underlined the difficulties it was facing on the battlefield, using up its own stockpiles of munitions against Ukrainian troops.
The level of artillery fire in Ukraine has not been seen since the Korean war – straining supply lines on both sides.
A Ukrainian brigadier has claimed the Russian military had been firing between 60,000 to 70,000 artillery shells a day.
US officials have put the top rate at 20,000 daily.
Both Ukraine and the US have said the level has dropped because of stocks running low.
“They – allegedly the second biggest army in the world – (are) running out of resources, which is a great result for the Ukrainian armed forces,” the Ukrainian ambassador said in an interview at the embassy in London.
The envoy said western sanctions were impacting Russia’s ability to use its defence industry to replenish stocks fast enough but more work was needed to shut down other routes.
“We still have actively to pursue the Iranians and the rest of these regimes to stop the supply to Russians to fuel this war in Ukraine,” Mr Prystaiko said.
General Sir Richard Barrons, a former senior British military officer, said an influx of 300,000 shells from Iran, while helpful for Russia, would not last long given the rate of fire.
By contrast, should China decide to make its vast munition stockpiles available to President Putin’s war machine that would be “very, very difficult for Ukraine”, he added.
An urgent transfer to the Gemelli hospital, where he was treated for pneumonia earlier this year, was among the options considered.
A request for an urgent escort from the Vatican was received by Rome police after 7am, sources there said, but, given how quickly his condition worsened, it was cancelled by Vatican officials before 7.35am.
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First images of pope’s casket
The Vatican said he died from a stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.
He is currently lying in state in the Santa Marta Domus in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household.
Francis will be laid to rest Saturday, the Vatican announced on Tuesday, after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects.
The funeral will take place outside, in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica, and will start with a procession led by a priest carrying a cross, followed by the coffin and ordained clergy.
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1:02
‘Many were in tears, I was in tears’
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will lead the service. Nine days of mourning begin afterwards.
Unlike his predecessors, Francis will be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), as per his final burial wishes, announced on Monday.
The basilica is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, and is where Francis traditionally went to pray before and after foreign trips.
He will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century.
In another change from tradition, he will be buried in a simple wooden casket, forgoing the centuries-old practice of burying the late pope in three interlocking caskets made of cypress, lead, and oak.
Francis, the first Jesuit and Latin American pontiff, had suffered from a chronic lung disease and had part of a lung removed as a young man.
Health issues plagued him throughout his later life, and he was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on 14 February for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He stayed at the hospital for 38 days before being released.
A bag belonging to the US Homeland Security Secretary was stolen on Sunday night – containing thousands of dollars in cash and an ID card that gives access to secure agency buildings.
Kristi Noem was eating at a Washington DC burger restaurant with family when a man in a face covering sat near her table and stole her purse, according to two people familiar with the theft.
The cabinet secretary was carrying $3,000 (£2,243) in cash because “her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren”, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told NBC.
“She was using the withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities and Easter gifts.”
Image: The purse contained her ID card. Reuters file pic
Just before 8pm, a man wearing an N-95 mask walked into the restaurant and up a few stairs to where Ms Noem was eating dinner.
He sat near her table and moved his chair close to hers before sliding her purse toward him with his foot, according to surveillance footage viewed by law enforcement, the sources said.
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Within minutes, the man had Ms Noem’s purse under his jacket and walked out of the restaurant.
At least two on-duty members of the US Secret Service were in the restaurant – between Ms Noem and the front doors – according to a source who witnessed the meal.
They said the restaurant wasn’t very busy at the time.
The purse also contained credit cards, blank cheques, her passport, driver’s licence and a set of keys.
It’s unclear whether Ms Noem was specifically targeted – and investigators are looking into whether the man knew who the purse belonged to.
When asked about the incident, Ms Noem said: “I don’t think I can comment on it yet. It’s not resolved yet.”
She said the Secret Service was aware but said she hadn’t spoken to agency personnel about what happened.
Ms Noem is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump’s policies of deporting undocumented immigrants and fortifying the US-Mexico border to slow illegal migration.
Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about ending Russia’s “brutal war” on Ukraine in their latest phone call on Easter Monday, as Vladimir Putin said he was open to bilateral talks.
The prime minister and Ukrainian president spoke on Monday afternoon, when Sir Keir “reiterated his iron-clad support for Ukraine“.
A Downing Street spokesperson added that the prime minister “said that the UK supports Ukraine’s calls for Russiato commit to a full ceasefire and that now is the time for Putin to show he is serious about ending his brutal war”.
“They discussed the latest developments on the Coalition of the Willing, and looked forward to further progress towards a just and lasting peace,” the spokesperson added.
Mr Zelenskyy later said on social media that he had a “good and detailed conversation” with the prime minister, and added Ukrainian officials will be in London for talks on ending the war with Russia on Wednesday.
“We are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace,” he added.
The Ukrainian president added that the 30-hour Easter truce, which both Kyiv and Moscow accuse the other of violating, showed that Russia “are prolonging the war”.
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It comes as Mr Putin proposed bilateral talks with Ukraine on a longer ceasefire, which would mark the first time Russia held such talks since a failed peace deal soon after the invasion in 2022.
Speaking to a state TV reporter, the Russian president said: “We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative (the Easter truce), especially since we are talking about the bright Easter days.”
When asked about Mr Zelenskyy’s calls to extend the 30-hour ceasefire into a 30-day pause on civilian targets, he added: “This is all a subject for careful study, perhaps even bilaterally. We do not rule this out.”
The Ukrainian president said on Sunday evening that the Russian army had “violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times” during the day, and accused Russia of “failing” to “uphold its own promise of a ceasefire”.
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From Saturday: Why Putin offered an Easter truce?
It also comes after Donald Trump has said he hopes Russia and Ukraine “will make a deal this week,” after he and his secretary of state Marco Rubio warned that the US will walk away from efforts to broker a peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon.
The US president said on his Truth Social platform that both countries would “start to do big business” with the US after ending the war.
Last month, Ukraine accepted Mr Trump’s proposal for a 30-day truce, but Mr Putin refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire, saying crucial issues of verification had not been sorted out.
He then said he would agree not to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. However, both sides have accused each other of breaking the moratorium on attacks on energy targets and at sea.