Shane Harris, Dan Lamothe, Alex Horton and Karen DeYoung
The U.S. government has examined the wreckage of Iranian-made drones shot down in Ukraine, deepening its insight into the unmanned craft that Russia has launched in a spate of kamikaze attacks on the country’s critical infrastructure, according to two U.S. officials.
Information about the drones’ structure and technology could prove crucial in helping the United States and its Ukrainian allies better identify and ultimately defeat them before they can reach their targets. Officials said the process has been used in the past to study weaponry deployed by Iran’s proxies in conflicts in the Middle East. People interviewed for this report spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence collection.
The Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used in this week’s attacks on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, have targeted power stations and other utilities, killing at least four, authorities there have said. Their use by Russian forces has underscored the growing ties between Moscow and Tehran, alarming Western leaders whose sanctions and other punitive economic measures have drastically undercut the Kremlin’s ability to regenerate its military after eight months of war.
The Iranian-made drones are being launched from three Russian military bases in Crimea and another position in Belarus, a Ukrainian official said. The White House on Thursday confirmed previous reporting that Tehran has dispatched advisers to Russian-controlled areas, where they have provided operators with technical instruction.
National Security Council communications coordinator John Kirby told reporters that “a relatively small number” of Iranian trainers and technicians are in Crimea “to help the Russians use [the drones] with better lethality.” Russians remotely pilot the aircraft with Iranian personnel “assisting,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters in a separate briefing.
“Both Iran and Russia continue to lie about it,” Kirby said, but “the fact is this: The Iranians are now directly engaged on the ground and through the provision of weapons ... killing civilians and destroying infrastructure” in Ukraine. He said the United States, along with partners and allies, is working to address with sanctions Iran’s transfer of drones and to ensure Ukraine has air defense systems to shoot them down.
It is unclear how the United States gained access to the drone wreckage, though the Pentagon coordinates closely with Ukraine’s military and maintains a small administrative presence at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. That team is led by a one-star Army general. Asked if the United States has been able to inspect the drone wreckage in Ukraine, Ryder said, “I don’t have any information on that.”
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