America’s greatest enemies, Iran and North Korea, are reportedly banding together to help Russia in their war against Ukraine.
Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began eight months ago, Western nations such as the U.S. and U.K. have allied with Ukraine, while Iran and North Korea have sided with Russia.
In October, CNN reported that many of the hundreds of drones Russian troops recently used against Ukraine appeared to have come from Iran, along with hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
John Kirby, the communications coordinator at the National Security Council, confirmed the presence of Iranian personnel in the conflict.
“We can confirm that Russian military personnel that are based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian UAVs, using them to conduct strikes across Ukraine, including strikes against Kyiv,” Kirby said, referring to the UAVs.
But Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, denied that Iran had any direct engagement in the conflict.
“We have good ties with Russia and have had defense cooperation since earlier, but our policy towards the war in Ukraine is to respect the territorial integrity of countries, not to send weapons to conflicting parties, stop the war and end the displacement of people,” Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying, according to Iranian state media.
Meanwhile, Kirby also alleges that North Korea is helping Russian President Vladimir Putin by providing his country with “a significant amount of ammunition.”
“Our information indicates that the DPRK is covertly supplying Russia’s war in Ukraine with a significant number of artillery shells, while obfuscating the real destination of the arms shipments by trying to make it appear as though they’re being sent to countries in the Middle East or North Africa,” Kirby told reporters earlier this month.
Similar to Iran, North Korea has repeatedly denied that it was selling arms to Russia for use in Ukraine.
“We once again make clear that we have never had ‘arms dealings’ with Russia and that we have no plan to do so in the future,” a North Korea Defense Ministry official said, according to a report from the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Iran and North Korea backing the Kremlin is concerning, but it could also signify that Russia is losing the war and is desperate for weaponry.
