News Feed

New York Times: Iran sends drone trainers to Crimea to help Russia's war effort

0 min read

Current and former U.S. officials who spoke to the New York Times on the condition of anonymity said that Iran has sent trainers to Russian-occupied Crimea to help Russian troops overcome problems with the fleet of drones that they purchased from Tehran. The trainers are from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a branch of the Iranian military designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S.

According to the New York Times, the Iranian personnel are far from the front lines and are deployed to train the Russians on how to fly the drones. It is not clear how many trainers are currently in Crimea and if they are flying any of the aircraft themselves.

Avatar
The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

Read more
News Feed

"Russian military personnel know exactly where their drones are headed and how long they can stay in the air," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, commenting on the attacks. "The routes are always calculated. This cannot be an accident, a mistake, or the initiative of some lower-level commanders."

It is the third time Russian forces have used pipelines as a tactic, which they first adopted during the Battle of Avdiivka. Back in March, around 100 troops passed through a gas pipeline to reach Ukrainian positions in Sudzha, in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

Show More