DISINFO: Western accusations that Iran is delivering drones to Russia are false
SUMMARY
Ukraine and its Western backers are trying to promote another false information: the alleged delivery of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia.
RESPONSE
There is ample evidence of the use of Iranian drones by Russian forces in Ukraine, including images, wreckage, expert identification and the examination of at least one downed unmanned aerial vehicle in good condition.
On 18 October 2022 Reuters reported that, according to four Iranian officials, Tehran had recently agreed to supply more Iranian drones to Moscow along with missiles. The same day, Ukraine invited UN experts to examine debris from downed Iranian drones. Russia reacted by calling UN officials to “abstain from engaging in any illegitimate investigation” and threatening to “reassess [Russia’s] collaboration” with the United Nations. US intelligence also affirmed that Iranian trainers were in Crimea to help Russian forces to operate the Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles. On 20 October 2022, Russian military expert Ruslan Pukhov inadvertently admitted on camera on RBC TV that Russia is using Iranian suicide drones.
Denying Russia’s illicit actions when it is called out or labelling these accusations as fake is a frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation technique. See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that war crimes accusations are Ukrainian propaganda against Russia, that Western strategists make baseless accusations about Russia to undermine its political stability, that Russia is falsely accused of misdeeds by simply affirming that its responsibility is “highly likely”, or that the West fights Russia through psy-ops like Bucha and the Mariupol maternity hospital.