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Russian commentator Ruslan Bukov, an expert on military affairs, admitted on the Russian TV program RBK that the drones used by Russia in Ukraine were made in Iran, a claim denied more than once by the Kremlin.
Minutes before Bukov went live on the Russian show “What Does It Mean,” presenters Bogdana Prigoda and Yuri Tamantsev noted that the West was accusing Iran of supplying drones to Russia. When the commentator then entered the stage, he greeted them and advised them not to speak too much on the matter, not realizing that the microphone was already on. “We are not going to talk much about it. I beg you, don’t do it (…). We all know they are Iranians, but the government won’t accept them“, he said, quoted by the Independent Russian newspaper Medusa.
A video of the moment was later shared Twitter Julia Davis, a Daily Beast journalist who follows Russian state television.
A great hot mic moment: The expert, a member of the General Council of the Russian Defense Ministry, urges hosts not to mention that the drones used in recent strikes are Iranian because officials refuse to admit it: “It’s a *- you have, but don’t say a word.” pic.twitter.com/BKFYwtct1g
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) October 20, 2022
According to Medusa, the presenters seem to follow the note and when Bukov is in the studio, they never touch on the drone theme again. However, considering the current war situation, the commentator goes so far as to point out, Russia must import weapons. “And there’s nothing embarrassing about it. We’ve got to collect everything we can, yes?”
On the RBK website, episodes of “What Does It Mean” are regularly posted, however, the October 19 release is not on the website. list.
Asked by journalists after the event, Bukov, a member of the Executive Committee of the Russian Defense Ministry, He said he did not remember talking about Iranian drones. “Maybe right or not. I don’t remember, unfortunately. It was a while ago and after Covid I forget some things”, he argued.
Ukraine and its allies have accused Russia of using Iranian drones to attack Ukrainian territory. The US said it had “substantial evidence” of the use of these weapons in Ukraine, and that Iranian soldiers were even brought in to help Russian forces launch the drones.
This Friday, the United Kingdom, France and Germany called for a United Nations investigation into the use of drones. All three countries say this is illegal Resolution 2231 (2015) The UN backed Iran’s nuclear deal.
“We stand ready to support the work of the UN Secretariat in conducting a technical and impartial investigation,” a three-nation letter sent to the organization’s Security Council said. Reuters had access.
Russia, for its part, denies the allegations and deems no investigation necessary. On Thursday, the UN After the Security Council meeting, the Russian ambassador called on Guterres and his team to “not engage in any improper investigation”. “Otherwise we will have to re-evaluate our cooperation with them, which is not in anyone’s interest. We don’t want it, but there is no other way,” he said, as quoted by Reuters. Dmitry Polyanskiy condemned “baseless accusations and conspiracy theories,” insisting that the weapons were made in Russia. .
Russia threatens to reconsider cooperation with Guterres if drones probed in Ukraine
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