Iran supplies UAVs to Russians for Ukraine: White House

Iran plans to supply hundreds of drones with combat weapons capabilities to Russia for use in Ukraine, a senior US official said Monday.

Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said the information received from the United States supports the view that the Russian military is facing challenges in maintaining its weapons following significant casualties in Ukraine.

“The Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with up to several hundred UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), including weaponized UAVs, in the short term,” Sullivan told reporters.

“Our information also suggests that Iran is preparing to train Russian forces to use these UAVs, with the first training sessions scheduled to begin as early as July,” he said.

Sullivan said it’s not clear if Iran has already shipped drones to Russia.

He noted that the Iranian drones were being used by Yemen’s Houthi rebels to attack Saudi Arabia.

Drones have played a crucial role on both sides of the war in Ukraine, from firing missiles from afar to dropping small bombs on targets and providing reconnaissance for artillery and ground forces.

Ukrainian forces have had particular success using Turkish-made armed UAVs from Bayraktar, and the United States and other allies have provided Kyiv with many types of smaller drones.

“In our view, we will continue to do our part to keep Ukraine effectively defended and to show Ukrainians that Russian efforts to wipe Ukraine off the map cannot succeed,” Sullivan said.