Russia has “run out” of Iranian-made drones to attack Ukraine - but expects them to be “re-suppled”, Western officials warned today.
Western allies now believe “desperate” Vladimir Putin has no Iranian drones left after there were no reports of them being used against Ukraine for two to three weeks.
Iran’s Foreign Minister finally admitted last month that his country had supplied drones to the Kremlin - but insisted it happened before the war began.
Yet a Western official said today: “They have run out, [but] they anticipate a re-supply.”
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was thought a number of drones in the “low hundreds” had previously been gifted from Iran to Moscow.
They said it was unclear whether Iran would send more, but added: “Clearly what we are seeing is a closer partnership between Russia and Iran on the supply of advanced weapons systems.
“It is something which concerns us and something we’re monitoring very closely.”
It comes as Russia uses separate air-launched cruise missiles to hammer Ukraine’s electricity supply as the cold winter advances.
In the last eight weeks Russia has mounted a “systematic attempt to use long range missiles to destroy Ukraine’s electricity grid,” a Western official said.
But Moscow “likely does not have enough missiles in stock” to achieve this, and the assault “does not appear to have been dramatically successful” so far, the official added.
The Kremlin has also “used up many valuable cruise missiles” on missions its aircraft could have performed instead, the official said.
On Monday Ukraine's air force claimed it shot down more than 60 of 70 missiles fired at its territory by Russia.
A Western official said: “We condemn Russia’s ongoing barbaric missile attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure.
“It would be for a competent court to determine whether these constituted war crimes. But intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects does constitute a war crime and those responsible must be held to account.
“We believe that these attacks are a sign of Putin’s increasing desperation, and a recognition that his military invasion is failing.
“And the object is to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people. But if he calculates that that is the result, he is mistaken. Their resolve has only been strengthened.”
Meanwhile Moscow blamed Kyiv for unprecedented, similar attacks on two air bases deep inside Russia, the Engels and Dyagilevo bases.
Western officials believe the attack on the Engels base was the deepest inside Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February.