US State Department says there's 'abundant evidence' Russia is using Iranian drones in Ukraine - CNN

Washington CNN  — 

The United States has “abundant evidence” that Russia is utilizing Iranian drones to onslaught Ukraine, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Wednesday.

“The United States began informing successful July that Iran was readying to transportation UAVs to Russia for usage successful Russia’s brutal warfare against Ukraine, and we present person abundant grounds that these UAVs are being utilized to onslaught Ukrainian civilians and captious civilian infrastructure,” Price said successful a statement.

The United Nations Security Council received adept briefings connected Iran’s transportation of specified drones to Russia, Price said, and the contented was collectively raised by the US, United Kingdom and France astatine a closed-door UNSC gathering Wednesday.

Drones person played a important relation successful the struggle since Russia launched its full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful precocious February, but their usage has accrued since the summer, erstwhile the United States and Kyiv accidental Moscow acquired the drones from Iran. Iran has denied supplying weapons to Russia contempt grounds to the contrary.

CNN reported Tuesday that Iran has sent subject unit to Russian-occupied territory wrong Crimea to bid and counsel the Russian subject connected the usage of their drones, according to 2 sources acquainted with US intelligence.

A spokesperson for the Iranian ngo astatine the United Nations said, “Iran does not corroborate this assertion and rejects it.”

Still, the US has said determination volition beryllium consequences for these Iranian drone transfers to Russia, and Price dangled the anticipation of sanctions being rolled out. “We volition not hesitate to usage our sanctions and different due tools connected each progressive successful these transfers,” helium said.

Kamikaze drones, oregon termination drones, are a benignant of aerial limb system. They are known arsenic a loitering munition due to the fact that they are susceptible of waiting for immoderate clip successful an country identified arsenic a imaginable people and lone onslaught erstwhile an force plus is identified.

They are small, portable and tin beryllium easy launched, but their main vantage is that they are hard to observe and tin beryllium fired from a distance.