The Biden administration released new data on cooperation between Russia and Iran in the production of drones, as well as on the logistics of delivering Iranian drones to the front line in Ukraine, reports the Financial Times.
Drones delivered to the front line are assembled in Iran and then transported across the Caspian Sea from Amirabad to Makhachkala, said John Kirby, US National Security Council strategic communications coordinator. In addition, he warned about the construction of a plant in Russia, where they will assemble drones using Iranian technologies.
This enterprise will be located in the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan. Iran supplies materials for its equipment.
Russia has been using Iranian drones, mainly Shahed-type kamikaze drones, to attack Ukrainian civilian and military infrastructure since September 2022. Attack UAV attacks are often accompanied by missile attacks.
According to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, out of approximately 1,160 Shaheds targeted by the Russian Federation at targets in Ukraine, almost 900 were shot down by Ukrainian air defense forces. At the end of May, the Verkhovna Rada agreed on the imposition of sanctions against Iran for 50 years.