International Desk: Iranian troops have been training Russian forces in Russian-occupied Crimea to help launch of Tehran-made drones to strike Ukrainian cities including Kyiv, the White House says on Thursday.

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a US spokesman said that the Iranians are trainers and tech support workers.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said "We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations,".

A "relatively small" number of Iranians are providing technical support and Russians are piloting the drones in Ukraine, he said.

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"Tehran is now directly engaged on the ground, and through the provision of weapons that are impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine," Mr Kirby said.

The Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was struck by "kamikaze" drones on Monday, deployed by Russia but believed to be Iranian-made.

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Ukraine identified the drones - or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) - used on Monday as Iranian Shahed-136 weapons.

The UK has announced sanctions on three Iranian generals and an arms firm over Russia's use of Iranian drones to attack Ukraine.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly accused those listed of "warmongering" and profiting off Moscow's "abhorrent" attacks.

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Among those targeted is the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, as well as Shahed Aviation Industries, a drone manufacturer.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of placing explosives on a key dam in southern Ukraine.

Sun News/MR

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