OTTAWA: Russia’s use of Iranian drones in Ukraine is “appalling,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday, adding that the United States and allies would seek to block such shipments.
Russia has used the drones to “kill Ukrainian civilians and destroy the infrastructure they rely on for electricity, for water, for heat. It’s appalling,” Blinken said during a visit to Ottawa.
“Canada and the United States will keep working with our allies and partners to expose, to deter and to counter Iran’s provision of these weapons,” he vowed.
Kyiv and its Western allies have repeatedly accused Moscow of using Iranian-made drones in attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks.
Ukraine has said around 400 Iranian drones have already been used against the civilian population of Ukraine, and Moscow has ordered around 2,000.
Tehran has rejected the allegation, its Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian saying this week: “We have not supplied Russia with any weapons or drones for use in the war against Ukraine.”
“If... it becomes clear to us that Russia has used Iranian drones in the war against Ukraine, we will definitely not be indifferent about this issue,” he added.
The United States, alongside Britain and the European Union, have already imposed sanctions on Iran over the issue of drones.
Last month, Kyiv decided to significantly reduce its diplomatic relations with Tehran over alleged arms deliveries to Moscow.
Russia’s use of Iranian drones in Ukraine ‘appalling’: Blinken
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Russia’s use of Iranian drones in Ukraine ‘appalling’: Blinken
- "Canada and the United States will keep working with our allies and partners to expose, to deter and to counter Iran's provision of these weapons," Blinken vowed
- Kyiv and its Western allies have repeatedly accused Moscow of using Iranian-made drones in attacks on Ukraine
Over 1,400 Indonesians left Cambodian scam groups in five days: embassy
- Scammers working from hubs across Southeast Asia lure Internet users globally into fake romances and cryptocurrency investments
- Some foreign nationals have evacuated suspected scam compounds across Cambodia this month
PHNOM PENH: More than 1,400 Indonesians have left cyberscam networks in Cambodia in the last five days, Jakarta said on Wednesday, after Phnom Penh pledged a fresh crackdown on the illicit trade.
Scammers working from hubs across Southeast Asia, some willingly and others trafficked, lure Internet users globally into fake romances and cryptocurrency investments, netting tens of billions of dollars each year.
Some foreign nationals have evacuated suspected scam compounds across Cambodia this month as the government pledged to “eliminate” problems related to the online fraud industry, which the United Nations says employs at least 100,000 people in Cambodia alone.
Between January 16-20, 1,440 Indonesians left sites operated by online scam syndicates around Cambodia and went to the Indonesian embassy in Phnom Penh for help, the mission said in a statement.
The “largest wave of arrivals” occurred on Monday when 520 Indonesians came to the embassy, it said.
Recent Cambodian law enforcement measures against scam operators meant more citizens would likely continue showing up at the embassy, it added.
“The main problem for them is that they do not possess passports and they are staying in Cambodia without valid immigration permits,” according to the embassy.
It urged Indonesians leaving scam sites to report to the embassy, which could assist them with securing travel documents and overstay fine waivers in order to return home.
Indonesia said this week that its embassy in Phnom Penh handled more than 5,000 consular service cases for citizens in Cambodia last year — more than 80 percent of which were related to Indonesians who “admitted to being involved with online scam syndicates.”
Cambodia arrested and deported Chinese-born tycoon Chen Zhi, accused of running Internet scam operations from Cambodia, to China this month.
Chen, a former adviser to Cambodia’s leaders, was indicted by US authorities in October.
Analysts say Chen’s extradition has left some of those running Internet scams from Cambodia fearing legal consequences — after the criminal enterprises ballooned for years — with some operators opting to release people or evacuate their compounds.
