Personnel connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have traveled to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to train Russian forces on how to use the Iranian drones they’ve purchased, according to the Ukrainian government.
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The Iranians have spent time in the occupied region of Kherson and Crimea, which is where they instruct Russian forces on how to use the Shahed 136 kamikaze drone. The government said the Iranians “directly monitor the launch of drones.”
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Russia’s military has increasingly relied on Iranian weapons as their stockpiles diminish.
“I do know that the numbers of precision missiles that the Russians have fired since the beginning of the fight are pretty extensive,” a senior U.S. military official told reporters on Friday. “I think the fact that they’re now going to the Iranians to use drones speaks to their concern associated with precision munitions. So every one of them fired is probably a very careful consideration for the Russians.”
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh noted during Friday’s briefing, “The fact that Russia is resorting to go to an actor like Iran I think shows that they are certainly depleting supplies.”
Russian forces, this week, have carried out a series of missile and drone strikes across the country in a magnitude and range reminiscent of the beginning of the war. Dozens have been killed and hundreds injured in the latest bombardment, while U.S. and U.N. officials have accused the Russians of targeting civilian infrastructure during this latest campaign.
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The U.S. and Western allies have reiterated their support for Ukraine in light of the recent attacks, which spurred calls from Ukrainian leaders for allies to bolster their air defense systems.
Western officials have expressed concern that Putin could resort to using a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, which he’s threatened to do as his losses in the war continue. President Joe Biden said earlier this week that he doesn’t think it’ll happen, though he warned that it would have unspecified massive consequences.
