Fears Putin will step up kamikaze drone flash as ‘elite Iranian troops train Russian forces to operate them’

Vladimir Putin is ramping up his drone strikes in Ukraine, while elite Iranian troops are reportedly training Russian forces on how to use kamikaze drones.

This week Russia brutally attacked the Kyiv region and other cities with kamikaze drones and rockets in retaliation after Ukraine blew up the Kerch Key Bridge, which connects Russia to annexed Crimea.

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It has now emerged that elite Iranian forces have secretly invaded Ukraine in support of Putin’s horror attack and have trained Russian forces to operate kamikaze drones known as the Shahed-136.

Up to 50 specialists from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have joined Russian forces on the southern and eastern fronts with hundreds of killer drones, The Daily Mirror reported.

Iranian-made self-destructing Shahed-136s (also known as the Heran 2) were designed as suicide vehicles, able to loiter over targets before engaging them, and have recently been pounding Ukrainian cities.

Controlled by satellite navigation, the drones are equipped with an explosive warhead and can fly up to 2,500 km at a speed of 185 km/h.

A Ukrainian military source claimed that “at least one of the Iranian training teams was recently hit and is actively being hunted down.”

“We have been concerned for some time that IRGC specialists are assisting Russia in its horrific attacks on civilians and of course they will be targeted.”

While Iran denied any involvement in the conflict, the source claimed that Putin’s senior commanders had contracted the IRGC troops, which they claimed were based in Dzankoi in Crimea and in Kherson in southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s allies have vowed to equip his army with advanced air defense systems to counter Russia’s use of Iranian kamikaze drones and missiles.

The UK announced this week it would deploy surface-to-air AMRAAM missiles and hundreds of aerial drones for intelligence gathering and logistical support, as well as 18 howitzer artillery pieces.

The missiles will work in conjunction with American NASAMS air defense systems and are expected to arrive within a few weeks.

Kyiv had previously blasted Iran for what it called “collaboration with evil” and stripped Iran’s ambassador to Ukraine of his title over the country’s decision to allegedly supply drones to Russian forces.

In September, Zelenskyy said: “Today the Russian army used Iranian drones for its attacks (…) The world will know about every case of collaboration with evil, and there will be corresponding consequences.”

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