The Kurdistan Region has denied reports of a Ukrainian drone or military presence on its territory, dismissing the claims as false and baseless, Kurdistan24 reported.

Source: Kurdistan24 via Hatha Alyoum

The ministry dismissed reports circulated by several media outlets concerning the alleged presence of Ukrainian drones, military forces or units in the Kurdistan Region, describing the claims as "false and baseless", according to Kurdistan24. Rudaw and The New Region carried the same denial.

The allegation came from Iran's Tasnim news agency, which on October 20 cited an unnamed security source claiming Ukraine had stationed thousands of small drones and drone specialists in the region, TEBA reported. Tasnim is close to Iran's Revolutionary Guards. The claim is an allegation from a single unnamed source and has not been independently verified.

Ukraine's embassy in Baghdad separately rejected the allegations on October 21, saying Ukraine had not deployed drones, drone units or associated personnel to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq or any other part of Iraq, Shafaq News reported via Hatha Alyoum.

Source: Shafaq News via Hatha Alyoum

The embassy described the allegations as baseless and deliberate disinformation, reaffirmed Ukraine's respect for Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and urged media outlets to avoid spreading unverified claims, according to TEBA.

Source: TEBA

No independent evidence has emerged to substantiate the Iranian media claim of a Ukrainian drone deployment in the Kurdistan Region, TEBA noted. The double denial matters because the Kurdistan Region sits between Iran, Turkiye, Syria and the rest of Iraq, and unverified drone claims risk pulling a neutral regional government into the wider Iran-Ukraine tensions.