Washington believes Iranian military personnel have been deployed in Crimea to aid Russian forces using Iranian-made drones to attack Ukraine, prompting the West to impose sanctions on Tehran.
According to John Kirby, the National Security Council's communications coordinator, the presence of Iranian personnel demonstrates Tehran's direct involvement in the conflict.
Drones have been deployed to destroy Ukrainian power facilities and other infrastructure in strikes that appear to be aimed at disrupting and demoralizing the country as winter approaches.
"Russian military personnel based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian UAVs and using them to conduct kinetic strikes across Ukraine, including in strikes against Kyiv," State Department spokesman Ned Price told a news briefing.
"We assess that ... Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations."
On Thursday, local time, Ukrainians experienced the first planned power disruptions since the war started as officials worked to start repairs.
According to the European Union, countries have decided to take further penalties against Iran for selling drones to Russia. Britain has also placed restrictions on key military officials and a company it claims was engaged in the sale of Iranian drones to Moscow.
The U.S. has previously claimed that Iran was the source of Russia's drone purchases, but it has not previously acknowledged that Iranian soldiers are on the ground helping Russia use the weapons.
Kirby claimed that the Russians needed assistance from the Iranian soldiers to operate the drones since they were unfamiliar with their operation.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin inspected a training area for mobilized forces and was filmed firing sniper rifle shots in footage that appeared to indicate his personal support for soldiers traveling to Ukraine to fight.
Russia's Defense Ministry announced that it is once again targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, a strategy that has been stepped up since the appointment of Sergei Surovikin, dubbed "General Armageddon" by Russian media, as commander of what Moscow refers to as its "special military operation" in Ukraine earlier this month.
According to Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko, Russia has carried out over 300 air strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure since Oct. 10.
The Ukrainian military persisted in trying to march into Kherson, the sole provincial capital that Russian forces have taken control of, in the south.
Kirby said the U.S. is now concerned that Russia wants to buy more weaponry, such as surface-to-surface missiles, from Iran.
"They can lie to the world but they certainly can't hide the facts," he said.
