June 9, 2023
I am gravely concerned by the growing military cooperation between Russia and Iran which continues to enable Russia’s prosecution of its brutal war against Ukraine. This morning, the United States released further information documenting how Iran has provided Russia with hundreds of one-way attack UAVs, as well as UAV production-related equipment. Russia has been using these UAVs in recent weeks to strike Kyiv, destroy Ukrainian infrastructure, and kill and terrorize Ukrainian civilians.
Russia’s and Iran’s actions violate UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which prohibits all countries – including permanent members of the UN Security Council – from transferring these types of weapons from Iran.
Ukraine, the United States, and other countries have duly reported these violations to the United Nations and supplied the UN with additional information and analysis. There is an urgent need for the Secretary-General to respond to calls from the international community to investigate these violations. Doing so could save lives.
The United States will continue to consult closely with Ukraine and with members of the Security Council who share our concern, consistent with our obligation to implement Security Council resolutions and our goal of protecting civilians from further harm. The United States also will continue working with allies and partners to expose and disrupt these destabilizing activities.