Ukraine: Hezbollah and IRGC Train Russian Forces to Use Iranian Drones

Ukrainian media outlet 'Kyiv Post' reported on Monday, February 12, citing a report from the country's Ministry of Defense intelligence, that Hezbollah of Lebanon and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are training Russian soldiers and Syrian mercenaries to use Iranian drones in Syria, so that Moscow can deploy them for the war against Ukraine. According to this organization, Russian forces are being trained to use Iranian drones at a military airport in Syria's Homs province in western Syria. This training is being conducted by military personnel from Hezbollah and the IRGC, teaching Russian forces to operate Shahed-136 and Ababil-3 drones, as well as Iranian-made remotely piloted aircraft. According to 'Kyiv Post', Kamal Abu Sadiq, a senior commander of Hezbollah and an expert in drone construction and maintenance, is responsible for these training programs. Syrian mercenaries, whom the Kremlin intends to use as operators of Tehran-made drones in the war against Ukraine, are being trained alongside Russian military personnel. Russia relies on Iranian-made drones for its drone attacks in Ukraine. Ukraine has repeatedly showcased parts of downed Iranian drones. On Thursday, February 9, the Ukrainian Air Force shot down 11 out of 17 Iranian-made drones over four regions. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense recently announced that Moscow is recruiting mercenaries in Syria to join the war against Ukraine and is training about a thousand of them in urban combat techniques and tactics. Moscow intends to transfer the trained Russian forces and mercenaries to a Russian airbase in Khmeimim in the city of Latakia, Syria, before moving them to Russian territory. Syrian mercenaries will receive Russian citizenship upon arrival and then join the Russian armed forces. Ukrainian intelligence states that Russia is recruiting mercenaries in Syria similarly to other countries like Nepal through travel agencies. The report also stated: 'The recruitment of Syrian mercenaries for the war in Ukraine indicates the moral and psychological decline of the Russian occupying forces, which need to replace them with new mercenaries due to heavy casualties in the war.' A knowledgeable source told Reuters last month that a recently declassified U.S. intelligence report states that over 300,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the Ukraine war, which is nearly 90% of the military personnel Russia had at the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin, aiming to attract foreign mercenaries, issued a decree on Thursday, January 4, stating that foreign citizens fighting for Russia in Ukraine can obtain citizenship of the country. This citizenship right also extends to the families of these individuals. Ukraine and Russia have claimed to have shot down each other's drones. The Ukrainian Air Force shot down '11 Iranian Shahed drones' over four regions, and Russian airstrikes on the cities of Kyiv and Mykolaiv in Ukraine resulted in 5 deaths.