Russian spy satellites photographed Chagos military base for Iran, says Zelensky

Russian spy satellites photographed the UK-US base on Diego Garcia after Iran launched two ballistic missiles at the site, Ukraine’s president has said.

Volodymyr Zelensky said the photographs had been taken “in the interests of Iran”, along with images of bases in the Middle East housing American and British troops.

The Ministry of Defence has previously said it is “highly likely” that Russia shared intelligence with Iran even before the outbreak of war last month, and Mr Zelensky’s claim will increase concerns about co-operation between Tehran and Moscow.

In a post on X, Mr Zelensky said he had received an intelligence briefing on Saturday setting out Russian satellite activity.

He said: “On March 24, they imaged the US–UK joint military facility on Diego Garcia located in the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. They also captured pictures of Kuwait International Airport and parts of the infrastructure of the Greater Burgan oil field.

“On March 25, they took pictures of the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The Shaybah oil and gas field in Saudi Arabia, Incirlik Air Base in Turkiye, and Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar were all imaged on March 26.

“There are no Ukrainian facilities on this list. But who is helping whom when sanctions are lifted from an aggressor that earns daily revenue and provides intelligence for strikes against American, Middle Eastern, UK, and US–UK bases and so on?”

The Iranian attack on Diego Garcia took place prior to March 24 and saw two ballistic missiles launched at the base, around 3,800km (2,360 miles) away.

One missile failed in flight while the other was shot down by the US Navy, according to reports.

Diego Garcia has become a flashpoint in transatlantic relations after Sir Keir Starmer initially refused the US permission to launch bombing raids against Iran from the base.

The Prime Minister subsequently allowed Washington to use the base for limited strikes against Iranian drone and missile sites threatening British interests and, following Tehran’s attempt to hit Diego Garcia, other sites targeting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Other targets mentioned by Mr Zelensky have also reportedly been attacked by Iran, including the US Air Force facilities at Prince Sultan Air Base and the Al Udeid base in Qatar that also houses RAF personnel.

The Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment.

Meanwhile, UK ministers continue to face pressure to cancel a planned rise in fuel duty amid rising petrol prices and warnings of shortages following Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The rise is the result of the Government’s decision at the last budget to end the temporary cut in fuel duty introduced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In broadcast interviews on Sunday, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson declined to say whether the Government would go ahead with the rise, which will see fuel duty increase by 1p per litre in September and then another 2p in December.

She told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “For now, there is no need to take action, because consumers can know when they go to the pump that freeze remains in place.

“Of course, we will take a view closer to the time, but what we hope will happen between now and then, as we’ve just been talking about, is that we do see a de-escalation of the conflict.”

Ms Phillipson also continued to play down the prospect of fuel shortages, encouraging drivers to fill up their cars as normal and telling the public it is safe to book summer holidays.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told Sky News that rationing fuel should not be “the first thing” people should call for, instead arguing the Government should be “drilling our own oil and gas in the North Sea”.

According to the RAC, average petrol prices have risen more than 12% since the outbreak of war and are poised to break through the 150p per litre barrier for the first time in almost two years.