A Russian military expert was caught on a hot mic during a TV interview saying his country had received drones from Iran to attack Ukrainian cities after repeated denials from the Kremlin.
The clip of Ruslan Pukhov, the director of the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, with English subtitles, went viral on Russian and Ukrainian social media on Thursday.
“We all know the drones are Iranian but the government has not admitted to it. So let’s go easy on the subject of the drones," he said, apparently unaware that he was already live during the interview with Russian Business Channel RBC TV.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have released images of what analysts say is the wreckage of Iran-made Shahed-136 drones, fired at targets across the country.
They have a distinctive V-shape and tail fins that often survive explosive impact.
The so-called kamikaze drones — named because their attacks mimic Japanese suicide attack aircraft in the Second World War — are cheap and can be used in large swarms to overwhelm enemy air defences.
The White House confirmed for the first time on Thursday that Iranian troops had been training Russian forces in Crimea in the use of Tehran-made drones to strike Ukrainian cities including Kyiv.
“We can confirm that Russian military personnel based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian [drones], using them to conduct strikes across Ukraine including against Kyiv in recent days,” White House National Security spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
He said the US was no longer focusing on diplomacy with Iran over a proposed new nuclear deal.
Reuters reported this week that Iran had promised to provide Russia with surface-to-surface missiles, in addition to more drones, citing two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats.
A deal was agreed to on October 6 when Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, two senior officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and an official from the Supreme National Security Council visited Moscow for talks with Russia about the delivery of the weapons.
A western official told Reuters an agreement between Iran and Russia would provide surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missiles, including the Zolfaghar.
One of the drones Iran agreed to supply is the Shahed-136.
Tehran officially said on Tuesday it was ready for talks with Kyiv to clarify claims that Iran is providing Russia with weapons and drones to be used in the war against Ukraine.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had suggested to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Kyiv cut diplomatic ties with Iran.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
More from Armen Sarkissian
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees
Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme
Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks
Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets
RESULT
Bayern Munich 5 Eintrracht Frankfurt 2
Bayern: Goretzka (17'), Müller (41'), Lewandowski (46'), Davies (61'), Hinteregger (74' og)
Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')
RESULTS
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1.600m
Winner: Miller’s House, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Kanood, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Gervais, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Important Mission, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Firnas, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Zhou Storm, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
Brief scores:
Liverpool 3
Mane 24', Shaqiri 73', 80'
Manchester United 1
Lingard 33'
Man of the Match: Fabinho (Liverpool)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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