More and more reports have alleged that Ukrainians have been active in Iraq and deploying drones in Iraq, undermining Iran. This could be retaliation for Iran’s support for Russia or Iranian propaganda. Since 2022, Iran has been providing drones and drone technology to Russia for use in Ukraine. Moreover, Russia has also recruited over 3,000 Iraqis to fight Ukraine.
In Syria, Ukraine has used similar tactics. Ukraine supplied Syrian fighters with about 150 drones ahead of the offensive that toppled the Russian-backed (and Iran-backed) Assad regime in December 2024. In 2023, the Washington Post also reported that Ukraine’s intelligence agency investigated the possibility of using Syrian Kurdish SDF to strike Russian soldiers in Syria.
There are allegations now that Ukraine is trying to do the same with actors in Iraq. For instance, in July, there were reports that Iraqi authorities arrested cells working for Ukraine in Iraq and accused them of carrying out several attacks inside Iraqi territory.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency on October 20 claimed that Ukraine has deployed drone units—equipped with micro-drones—across several countries in the region (surrounding Iran), including the Kurdistan Region. This comes amid the ongoing war and tensions between Israel and the U.S. and Iran since February 28.
The Iranian state outlet alleges Ukrainian operatives have deployed thousands of micro-drones within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which Iran sees as a move by Ukraine as part of a broader campaign of “hostile actions by Europe and NATO against Iran.” This has been occurring despite the fact that President Trump has blamed NATO and Europe for not helping him with the war with Iran.
Iranian state media also alleged that Ukraine was behind a drone attack on a Syrian military academy in Homs, which killed more than 110 people on October 5, 2023, when the regime was still in power. On July 25, 2026, Ukrainian long-range drones also struck an Iranian commercial vessel, for which Ukraine; in return, Iran called off strikes on Ukraine. Ukraine has also provided Gulf states with air defenses during the February 28 War, which Tasnim News described as an ‘anti-Iranian’ activity.
The claim came after the last U.S. soldiers left the Kurdistan Region on September 30 as part of the planned Coalition withdrawal. It is possible that Iranian state media fabricated these allegations to make the Kurdistan Region a target. After the withdrawal of the U.S.-led Coalition on 30 September, there are no U.S. bases left in Kurdistan, and Iran has threatened to target any country that hosts U.S. bases if new clashes erupt between the U.S. and Iran.
Kurdish officials have denied the claims by Tasnim News as fabrication. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Interior on October 22 quickly rejected rumors and reports published by a number of media outlets alleging the presence of Ukrainian drones, forces or military units on the territory of the Kurdistan Region.
“Reiterating the KRG’s firm and unwavering commitment to a policy of neutrality and determination not to become involved in regional and international conflicts, we again stress that we will not allow the KR (Kurdistan Region) to be used to launch military operations or hostile activities against any country,” the KRG claimed.
“Under no circumstances will we allow the KR to become involved in, or drawn into, such conflicts,” the KRG added.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Iraq on October 21 also dismissed Iranian allegations that Kyiv had deployed drone units to the Kurdistan Region as “completely baseless,” while stressing its respect for Iraqi sovereignty.
The Kurdistan Region does not appear to be looking for more trouble, fearing Iranian retaliation, and has repeatedly underlined its neutrality.
During the 28 February War, a number of media reports claimed that the United States and Israel were planning to use Iranian Kurdish opposition parties based in the Kurdistan Region to enter western Iran and attack the Iranian government forces. However, President Trump later backtracked and stated that he does not want Kurds to attack Iran. The Kurdistan Region faced more than 1,000 drone and missile attacks from Iran and its local allies in Iraq.
The Kurdistan Region President, Nechirvan Barzani, at the MERI Forum on October 12 blamed these Iranian Kurdish groups for being irresponsible and said they controlled the borders to prevent that from happening. Now with U.S. troops and air protection gone, the Iraqi Kurds do not want to give Iran new excuses to attack the Kurdistan Region.
However, this is not the first time reports have surfaced of Ukraine being active in the Kurdistan Region. On August 30, 2025, the Embassy of Ukraine in Iraq denied allegations of involvement in training Kurdish militant groups to use suicide drones, after a Sulaimaniyah-based security agency claimed there was a plot to assassinate Bafel Jalal Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), by Lahur Talabani, his cousin and rival for the PUK leadership.
On August 27, 2025, Sulaimaniyah’s security agency said it had confessions from suspects that connected Lahur Sheikh Jangi, who leads the People’s Front party and Azhi Amin, the former PUK intelligence chief, to a group that was reportedly sent to Ukraine to learn how to use suicide drones. On August 22, 2025, Lahur Sheikh Jangi was arrested after clashing with security forces at his headquarters. After his arrest, there were also reports in September of drones being shot down near Bafel Talabani’s residence. On October 15, Lahur Sheikh Jangi was sentenced to 5 years and three months in prison.
Iran in the past accused Amin of being behind the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and helping Israel. On January 15, 2024, Iran carried out a missile strike on his base in Erbil. During an interview in March, he denied that Kurds wanted to get involved in the war.
Al Monitor also earlier reported that two Ukrainian men were taken hostage by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that was scammed by Ukrainian crooks in a million-dollar-plus arms trafficking deal. They were released in 2020. These men had no links to the Ukrainian government.
Kurdish experts say that the recent claims by Tasnim News might be used by Iran as a pretext to attack the Kurdistan Region if a new round of clashes breaks out between the United States and Iran before or after the U.S. midterm elections on November 3.
“No evidence has been presented to support the claim. This appears to be mainly a pretext for further attacks against the Kurdistan Region,” Mohammed A. Salih, a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told Khayrion.
“If anything, ongoing drone and missile attacks by Iran and Iran-backed Shia armed factions, and the Iraqi government’s inaction in the face of those attacks, justify Kurds trying to obtain self-defense weapons.”
It is highly unlikely that the Iraqi Kurds would deploy Ukrainian offensive drones against Iran. Nevertheless, they have been eager to gain air defenses against drones and missiles, which Iraq could provide in the next few years.
Although Tasnim News provided no proof of the deployment of Ukrainian drones to the Kurdistan Region, the news report and the recruitment of Iraqis by Russia show how increasingly the Ukrainian-Russian war is affecting the Middle East, including Iraq.
