Russia provided Yemen’s Houthis with satellite data to attack ships in Red Sea: Report

Russian targeting data helped the Houthis expand their strikes, the sources told the WSJ. The data was reportedly handed over through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Such assistance shows how much Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to undermine the Western economic and political order, the WSJ wrote. According to experts, Moscow is trying to foment instability from the Middle East to Asia to cause problems for the US.

The WSJ reported in early October that infamous Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was released in a prisoner swap between Russia and the US in 2022, was suspected of preparing a small arms deal with Houthi fighters.

Iran, one of Russia’s key allies, was also brokering secret negotiations between Moscow and Yemen’s Houthis to transfer Yakhont supersonic anti-ship missiles, Reuters reported in late September, citing seven unnamed sources.

Since the onset of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, Houthis have been conducting numerous strikes against the occupied territories. It has also carried out dozens of attacks on ships with links to Israel in a show of solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s military onslaught against the besieged enclave.

Houthis have stressed that they will not stop their attacks until unrelenting Israeli ground and aerial offensives in Gaza end.