Russian officials are not satisfied with the purchase of drones from Iran

 

Ukraine-Russia crisis   THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

Russian officials immediately signaled buyer's remorse after they received their first shipment of lethal drones from Iran to bolster their depleted arsenal, U.S. officials said this week.

Hi, it's Julius here with an update on Ukraine.

Russian officials are not satisfied with the purchase, citing concerns about the "operability" of the drones, according to a senior U.S. administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. While potentially lethal, the Iranian drones have reliability problems, and Ukraine has air defenses to counter them.

Ukrainian forces have exacted a steep toll on Russian forces by locating them behind enemy lines with drones for destruction by artillery. The concern with Iranian drones is that Russia will use them in a similar fashion to spy on and destroy Ukrainian troops and infrastructure.

However, U.S. officials and experts regard the drone sale as escalatory but unlikely to turn the tide in the war. Ukraine, armed with increasingly sophisticated weapons, is in the early stages of pushing back Russian gains in the southern part of the country.

The purchase of drones from Iran also shows that the Russian defense industry can't keep pace with battlefield losses – and that sanctions have prevented Russia from importing the high-tech parts it needs to build them, a second U.S. official said.

• Russia could soon deploy the drones to fly behind Ukrainian lines and use them to target troops and vital weapons systems like the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS. • The Pentagon, and other western allies, have been supplying Ukraine with air defense systems that can target drones and other warplanes. • A senior administration official insisted that Iran's sale of drones to Russia will not affect ongoing talks to curb Iran's nuclear enrichment capabilities.