An Iranian Army squad has been called on by Russia to help in the Ukraine war. It's believed that some members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) could be in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia. IRGC members are allegedly involved in providing training to Russian troops on how to use Shahed-136 drones.
An unspecified number of Iranian instructors have been brought by Russian forces to Dzankoi in Crimea and Zalizniy Port and Hladivtsi in Kherson Oblast, according to the Ukrainian Resistance Centre.
Iranian instructors Are In Areas of Ukraine Occupied by Russian Forces
The center believes their recruitment to occupied regions in Ukraine was indeed to teach Russian forces how to use Shahed-136 attack drones that will be used on civilian targets. The Resistance Centre stated that the Iranian instructors directly control the launch of drones in regions such as Mykolaiv and Odesa, according to Daily Star.
Iranian Instructors Could Be Members of IRGC
The primary operator of Iran's drone inventory is IRGC. Therefore, it's believed that instructors brought to Ukrainian territories could be IRGC members or people linked to the Iranian Army.
US Designated IRGC A Terror Organization
The IRGC was designated as a terror organization by the US in 2019. Although, the move was opposed by some of the top officials of the CIA and Pentagon.
Russia has deployed Iranian-manufactured unscrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) since at least August 2022, including the one-way attack Shahed-136 variant. Russia included Shahed variants among the extensive wave of strikes it conducted on October 10, according to Ukrinform.
Shahed-136 Can Be Easy Target Of Conventional Air Defenses
Shahed-136, which flies at low altitudes is slow, which makes it an easy target of conventional air defenses. But Russia has successfully been able to hit some areas of Ukraine by using drones. A few days back, a total of 86 Shahed-136s and claimed that 60 percent had been destroyed in the air, according to the Ukrainian General Staff.
