Russia is negotiating with the Yemeni Houthi rebels to hand them Yakhont anti-ship missiles. Militants can use them to attack merchant ships in the Red Sea.
Points of attention
- Russia is negotiating with the Yemeni Houthi militias on the transfer of Yakhont anti-ship missiles to them.
- Supplying missiles to the Houthis could pose a threat to US and EU warships in the Red Sea.
- The transfer of arms to the Houthis may be aimed at increasing pressure on Western countries and preventing Ukraine from carrying out long-range strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation.
- Yemeni Houthi fighters have already carried out numerous attacks on ships in the Red Sea using missiles and drones.
- The Houthis say they are targeting vessels that may be linked to Israel, and have already carried out several successful attacks in recent weeks.
The Russian Federation intends to hand over powerful missiles to Yemeni terrorists
According to the sources, negotiations between the Houthis and Russia took place at least twice this year in the capital of Iran, Tehran, and are planned to continue in the near future.
Supplying the Houthis with Yakhont (P-800 Onyx) supersonic anti-ship missiles will allow them to more accurately target commercial vessels and pose a threat to US and EU warships.
According to the agency, one of Russia's motives for supplying weapons to the Houthis is to increase pressure on Western countries and prevent them from giving Ukraine the opportunity to carry out long-range strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Russia has previously supplied Yakhont missiles to the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
What is known about the latest Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea
It is noted that the attack on the ship "Groton" was the first in the last 2 weeks after a series of airstrikes by Israeli aircraft on the positions of militants.
The Houthis did not explain the two-week pause in their attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. A similar slowdown in attacks was seen in November due to Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Yemeni militants controlled by Iran have resumed attacks on ships after the killing of the political leader of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Gania, in Iran.
In addition, the Houthis announced the shooting down of a reconnaissance UAV of the US Army and published images of the wreckage of the drone.
It is known that Yemeni militants have already attacked more than 70 ships in the Red Sea with the help of missiles and drones.
One ship was captured by them, they sank 2 more ships.
Their other missiles and drones were intercepted by the US-led coalition in the Red Sea or missed their target.
The Houthis themselves claim that they are attacking ships that may be associated with Israel.
