Iran troops sent to Crimea to train Russians to use drones, claims White House

According to the White House, Iranian military troops have traveled to Crimea to support Russian operations utilizing drones to strike civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. The National Security Council's media coordinator, John Kirby, said that the presence of Iranian personnel was proof of Tehran's active participation in the fight.
Kirby stated, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles, "We can confirm that Russian military forces based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian UAVs, utilizing them to execute strikes across Ukraine, including operations against Kyiv."

Iranian military personnel have reportedly been sent to Crimea to train Russian forces, according to an earlier CNN report.

He said that there were Iranian military forces in Crimea helping with these actions. "Russia has already received a number of UAV shipments and will probably continue to do so in the future."

The US has previously claimed that Russia was buying drones from Iran, but it hasn't previously acknowledged that Iranian people are really on the ground helping to use the weapons. There were only a "very limited number" of Iranian personnel on the ground, according to Kirby.

He claimed that the Russians needed assistance from Iranian officials to operate the drones since they were unfamiliar with their operation. He further stated that the US is currently worried that Russia is attempting to buy more weaponry, particularly surface-to-surface missiles, from Iran. He also claimed that Iran and Russia were still making up their alliance. They may lie to the entire world, but they are unable to conceal the truth, he asserted.