Russian officials largely condemned the February 28 US and Israeli strikes against Iran, consistent with Russian rhetoric around the June 2025 Israel-Iran war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi following the strikes on Iran on February 28 in which Lavrov condemned the strikes, calling for the United States and Israel to immediately cease all hostilities and resume efforts for a diplomatic solution to resolve the issues among the United States, Iran, and Israel.[1] The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a similar condemnation on February 28, calling the strikes unprovoked and a violation of international law.[2] The MFA criticized the United States and Israel for conducting the strikes after recently pursuing efforts to negotiate with Iran and claimed that the strikes violate international law and risk regional and global destabilization. The MFA criticized Israel for allegedly posturing to Russia that Israel had no interest in armed aggression against Iran prior to the strikes. The MFA called for a return to diplomacy and expressed Russia’s willingness to help facilitate renewed talks. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev directly criticized US President Donald Trump for striking Iran, claiming on his English and Russian language social media channels that the “peacekeeper” has “shown his true colors.”[3] Russian State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairperson Leonid Slutsky and International Affairs Committee First Deputy Head Alexei Chepa, whose target audience is the Russian population and who often act as bullhorns for the Kremlin’s true diplomatic and military aims, similarly criticized US aims in striking Iran and called for both the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the broader international community to intervene in situation to stop the strikes.[4] Chepa expressed hope that the United States will become preoccupied with the conflict in Iran and “forget” about Ukraine and assessed that the new conflict will likely delay a peace deal in Ukraine.[5]
Russia’s boilerplate condemnations of the strikes against Iran highlight the continued limits of Russia’s ability to support Iran and the asymmetry of the Russian-Iranian relationship. Russia issued similar condemnations of the June 2025 war and was unable to provide Iran with more support in defending against Israeli and later US strikes.[6] Russia’s war in Ukraine is constraining Russia’s ability to provide military support to Iran, also highlighting how Russia has become less reliant on Iran for its war effort in Ukraine over time as Russia has indigenized the production of much of what it previously imported from Iran and has subsequently become much more reliant on North Korea.[7] The Kremlin has to balance competing interests of sustaining its relationship with its allies, including Iran, while also attempting to reset the US-Russia relationship on Russia’s terms, including avoiding additional US sanctions.[8]
Ukrainian authorities implicated soldiers and the commander of the Russian 136th Motorized Rifle Brigade (58th Combined Arms Army, Southern Military District) for using chemical agents in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast from September 2024 to June 2025 in violation of international law. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on February 27 that 136th Motorized Rifle Brigade Commander Colonel Ruslan Nazarenko gave orders to fire K-51 and RG-Vo aerosol grenades containing CS gas (chlorobenzalmalononitrile) and CN gas (Chloroacetophenone) on Ukrainian positions using drone drops at least 14 times from September 2024 to June 2025.[9] The SBU also identified eight Russian soldiers in the 136th Motorized Rifle Brigade who used the munitions. CS and CN gases are classified as riot control agents (RCA), the usage of which violates the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) to which Russia is a signatory.[10] ISW observed reports that Russian forces significantly increased their usage of RCAs against Ukrainian forces throughout 2024 and 2025 in violation of the CWC.[11]
Key Takeaways
- Russian officials largely condemned the February 28 US and Israeli strikes against Iran, consistent with Russian rhetoric around the June 2025 Israel-Iran war.
- Russia’s boilerplate condemnations of the strikes against Iran highlight the continued limits of Russia’s ability to support Iran and the asymmetry of the Russian-Iranian relationship.
- Ukrainian authorities implicated soldiers and the commander of the Russian 136th Motorized Rifle Brigade (58th Combined Arms Army, Southern Military District) for using chemical agents in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast from September 2024 to June 2025 in violation of international law.
- Ukrainian and Russian forces both recently advanced in the Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka tactical area and near Hulyaipole.