Iranian military trainers are in Crimea helping Russian forces operate Iranian-made drones to attack targets in Ukraine, the United States said.
“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,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price told a daily briefing with reporters, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.
“We assess that … Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations,” Price said.
He added that “we do have credible information” but he did not provide evidence.
Tehran so far has not reacted to the US accusations but Iran has denied the drones are Iranian-made. Russia has also denied using Iranian drones in Ukraine, according to Reuters report.
