Iranian troops are “directly engaged on the ground” in Crimea, supporting Russian drone attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilian population, the White House has said.

The US government confirmed that Russia employed unmanned aerial vehicles purchased from Tehran in attacks carried out against Ukrainian targets from bases on the peninsula that it annexed in 2014, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

“We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations,” said Mr Kirby.

He said Russia has now purchased “dozens” of the Iranian-made drones and is “likely” to keep purchasing additional shipments of the unmanned weapons from Tehran.

A Russian fighter jet “released a missile” in the vicinity of a British aircraft over the Black Sea, the defence secretary revealed.

The UK raised objections with Russian defence chiefs, who blamed a technical malfunction, Ben Wallace told MPs. He said it happened in “international airspace over the Black Sea” three weeks ago, on 29 September.

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