Ukraine actively entered the war against Iran. And Israel will attack ambulances in Lebanon

Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine intercepted Shaed drones “in several nations” in the Middle East, before the ceasefire. Israel said it will attack ambulances in zones marked for evacuation in Lebanon.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian military shot down drones Shahedof Iranian manufacture, in several Middle Eastern countries during the war with Iran, thus confirming participation in missions abroad.

Zelenskyy made the first public acknowledgment of international operations on Wednesday, in statements to the press that were under embargo until this Friday morning. According to the President of Ukraine, Kiev’s forces participated in operations abroad using Ukrainian-made unmanned aerial interception devices, effective against Iranian-made Shahed drones used by Russia in Ukraine.

“It was not a training or exercise mission, but rather support in building a modern air defense system that actually works,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine participated in defensive operations before the interim ceasefire in the Middle East reached between Iran and the United States. Zelenskyy did not identify the countries involvedbut stated that Ukrainian troops operated “in various nations”helping to reinforce the respective air defense systems.

Previously, Zelenskyy had stated that 228 Ukrainian experts were deployed in the Middle East region. In return, Ukraine is receiving weapons to protect energy facilities, as well as oil, diesel and, in some cases, financial support, said the head of state.

The Ukrainian leader said the agreements will reinforce Ukraine’s energy stability and described the partnerships as something that will be promoted as Kiev seeks to formalize and expand knowledge in the defense sector.

The revelation came at a time when there are concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could divert Western military support from Ukraineparticularly the provision of equipment for air defense.

Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s partners continue to supply missiles to the Patriot systems, adding that a new batch arrived in recent days and that Ukraine is working with all partners to ensure that air defenses remain operational.

Worrying warning from WHO: Israel says it will attack ambulances

The representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Lebanon, Abdinasir Abubak, reported this Friday that the Israeli armed forces warned that they will also attack ambulances in areas marked for evacuation.

“Both health workers, medical facilities and ambulances are protected by international humanitarian law,” defended Abubak in a remote press conference.

The head of that international agency indicated that More than 50 health professionals were killed and another 150 were injured in almost five weeks of Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory.

Abubak warned that the treatment of more than 1,000 injured people in Lebanese hospitals following Wednesday’s massive attacks has forced the use of clinical supplies and products that would normally last three or four weeks but are now in short supply.

“There is a potential risk of supply shortages for traumatic cases, medicines, blood and many other materials needed for treatments,” said the WHO representative. According to the same source, “hospitals and the health system in general are overloaded”he concluded.

At least 254 people died and 1,165 were injured on Wednesday in an unprecedented wave of Israeli bombings against different areas of Lebanon, according to Lebanese civil protection.

The biggest Israeli offensive wave on its northern neighbor since March 2, when hostilities resumed, included more than 100 air strikes against targets that Israel considers to belong to the pro-Iranian Islamist movement Hezbollah, but which also hit residential areas.