A drone which appears to be an Iranian-made Shahed-136 UAV was shot down near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv Oblast of eastern Ukraine, the Strategic Communications Department of the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced on Tuesday.
The department published photos of the wing of the destroyed drone, which appears similar to the wing of the Shahed-136 UAV.
US warns Iran providing Russia with drones
The US has warned in recent weeks that Iran is providing Russia with drones to use in the invasion of Ukraine and training Russians to use them.
Last week, the US Treasury Department sanctioned an Iranian company shipping drones to Russia for use in the invasion of Ukraine, as well as three other Iranian companies for their involvement in producing drones.
The Tehran-based Safiran Airport Services was sanctioned for coordinating Russian military flights between Iran and Russia, including flights transporting Iranian UAVs, personnel and related equipment from Iran to Russia. After assembly and testing, the Russian Aerospace Forces intend to deploy the UAVs in the war in Ukraine, according to the Treasury's announcement.
“Russia is making increasingly desperate choices to continue its unprovoked war against Ukraine, particularly in the face of our unprecedented sanctions and export controls,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson, at the time.
In August, US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters that the US was able to confirm that Russian officials conducted training in Iran as part of the planned transfer of Iranian drones to Russia to use in the war in Ukraine.
In July, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that Iran is preparing to provide Russia with several hundred drones, including some that are capable of being armed with weapons.