“Our information indicates that the Iranian government is preparing to deliver to Russia as many as hundreds of UAVs, including armed” such aircraft, “in a very short period of time,” he said during a press conference in Washington.
Iran will deliver “hundreds” of drones to Russia, which is struggling to accelerate its advance in eastern Ukraine because of stiff resistance, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday.
“Our information indicates that the Iranian government is preparing to deliver to Russia as many as hundreds of UAVs, including armed” such aircraft, “in a very short period of time,” he said during a press conference in Washington.
US government information “also indicates that Iran is preparing to train Russian forces in the handling of these UAVs and that the first training sessions were to begin in early July,” Mr. Sullivan continued, stressing that he did not know whether any remote-controlled drones had already been delivered. drones from Tehran to Moscow.
According to the national security adviser of the American presidency, such Iranian aircraft are used by the Shiite Houthi rebels of Yemen “to attack Saudi Arabia”.
UAVs have been playing an important role since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24: they are used for intelligence gathering, reconnaissance and surveillance, for launching missiles, dropping bombs…
The invasion of Ukraine comes at a “tremendous cost” to Moscow, which Mr Sullivan said has many problems maintaining its armaments as Russian forces slowly carve out chunks of the Donbass, as eastern Ukraine is known.
The US announced last week a new $400 million military aid package to Ukraine, including HIMARS multiple launch systems and precision-guided munitions. Since the start of the Russian military invasion, Washington has delivered $6.9 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine.
Joe Biden’s adviser also reiterated the American position that “Russia has failed” in achieving its goals in Ukraine, which he said were to “seize Kyiv,” to “disappear Ukraine as a country,” to ” eliminate Ukrainian identity’ and ‘integrate Ukraine’ into its own territory.
“The main objective of our strategy is to give the Ukrainians a position of strength on the battlefield so that they are in a position of strength at the negotiating table when it comes time for diplomacy,” Mr. Sullivan said.
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