State Department cites ‘abundant evidence’ Russia is using Iranian drones in Ukraine

U.S. officials say they have “abundant evidence” that Russia is using Iranian-built drones in its months-long conflict with neighboring Ukraine. 

In a statement late Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the U.S., along with its British and French allies, raised the issue of Iran’s transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia during a United Nations Security Council meeting. 

Price noted that the U.S. began warning U.N. officials about Iran’s planned drone transfer to Russia in July, adding that Moscow has used the UAVs to conduct strikes on Ukrainian civilians and critical infrastructure in the country. 

“As Iran continues to lie and deny providing weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine, we are committed to working with allies and partners to prevent the transfer of dangerous weaponry to Russia,” Price said in a statement. “We will not hesitate to use our sanctions and other appropriate tools on all involved in these transfers.” 

In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and the Security Council on Wednesday, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, accused Iran of violating a Security Council resolution that prohibits the transfer of drones capable of flying 300 kilometers. 

Kyslytsya also encouraged U.N. experts to investigate whether Russia used the drones to target Ukrainian civilians. 

Both Moscow and Tehran have denied that the UAVs came from Iran, with Russia’s deputy Russian ambassador to the U.N., Dmitry Polyansky, saying that the drones were manufactured in Russia. Polyansky also accused the U.S., U.K. and France of trying to pressure Iran by alleging Tehran violated the resolution. 

Price late Wednesday also said that the U.S. plans to continue sending weaponry and artillery to Ukraine in its conflict against Russia. 

“We will also continue to surge unprecedented security assistance to Ukraine, including air defense capabilities, so that Ukraine can defend itself from these weapons,” Price concluded.

Separately, The Washington Post, citing two U.S. officials, reported on Thursday that U.S. officials have examined the wreckage of Iranian-made drones shot down in Ukraine in an effort to better identify and defeat the UAVs.