Iran sending military trainers to back Putin’s war a ‘first’ as Ukraine war escalates
Iran sending military personnel to Ukraine to assist Russian forces with Tehran-supplied “kamikaze” drones is a “first” for Ayatollah Khamenei, Express.co.uk has been told, as Washington confirms the presence of Iranian trainers in occupied territories.
On Monday, Kyiv was hit by the UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, believed by Western countries and Ukrainian authorities to be provided to Russia by Iran.
Tehran has denied supplying the drones, and Moscow has brushed off questions about their origin.
But Iran has deployed expert trainers and tech support workers to the Russian-occupied peninsula of Crimea to assist Russian forces using the drones in their war effort, the White House said on Thursday.
National security spokesman John Kirby told the media: “We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations.”
He said the US believes there are a “relatively small” number of these trainers in Crimea, but Moscow is “likely” to continue purchasing the UAVs from Tehran’s regime.
Mr Kirby then said the White House was working to “expose, deter and confront Iran’s provision of these munitions against the Ukrainian people”.
He continued: “Iran and Russia, they can lie to the world, but they certainly can’t hide the facts, and the fact is this: Tehran is now directly engaged on the ground.”
US State Department spokesman Ned Price then commented: “We can confirm that Russian military personnel based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian UAVs and using them to conduct kinetic strikes across Ukraine, including in strikes against Kyiv in recent days,”
He said the US’s knowledge was based on “credible information”, but did not provide further details.
The “kamikaze” drones, which are becoming familiar in Ukraine for the low buzzing sound they emit as they hover over a target, were identified as Shahed-136 drones operating under the name “Geran-2”.
The drones are named after the Japanese World War II pilots on suicide missions, with the UAVs self-destructing upon detonation.
Alex Vatanka, founding director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C., described the veering of Tehran into the Ukraine conflict as a “big decision” for the 83-year-old Ayatollah.
He told Express.co.uk: “It’s pretty unusual for Iran of post-1979 to involve militarily in another conflict, the way they have done on this scale.”
Source: Express
