Whatever, the Ukrainians think otherwise. Same for U.S. and other countries when they can detect such deliveries.
First on CNN: Russians have begun training on Iranian drones, US believes
The US believes Russian officials have begun training on drones in Iran over the last several weeks, the latest sign that
Russia intends to purchase the systems as the
war in Ukraine continues.
“During the last several weeks, Russian officials conducted training in Iran as part of the agreement for UAV transfers from Iran to Russia,” a US official told CNN. The official said the intelligence about the training has recently been declassified.
CNN has reached out to the Russian embassy in Washington for comment. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov
said last month that Russia had “no comments on the matter” when asked by reporters about the drones.
CNN first reported last month that a Russian delegation had visited an airfield in central Iran at least twice since June to
examine weapons-capable drones, according to national security adviser Jake Sullivan and satellite imagery obtained exclusively by CNN.
Iran began showcasing the Shahed-191 and Shahed-129 drones, also known as UAVs or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, to Russia at Kashan Airfield south of Tehran in June, US officials told CNN. Both types of drones are capable of carrying precision-guided missiles. Sullivan said in July that the US believes Iran intends to sell Russia hundreds of the drones that Russia can use in its
war in Ukraine.