Putin’s Masterstroke?
Russia is exacting a secret revenge. In late December 2025, Ukraine allegedly launched a massive drone attack, targeting the Valdai residence of Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin in the Novgorod region after receiving intelligence inputs from the US. According to reports citing US officials and The Washington Post, the Kremlin is providing Tehran with secret information about the locations of US warships, aircraft and military resources in the Middle East. Hence, the US has suffered severe damages in recent times.
Also, Russia has significantly profited from oil sales following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz because of escalating conflict in West Asia. The disruption of this key energy route has driven up global oil prices and increased demand for Russian crude, particularly from China and India.
In an article, titled The War of Signals; Al Jazeera has revealed how Russia and China are assisting Iran. According to the Doha-based media organisation, the Iran War is not just a war of missiles or bombs, but a war of information, satellites and electronic signals.
Bruce Riedel, the former CIA analyst and senior intelligence official, has observed that “coordinates are often more valuable than bullets in modern warfare“. He stressed: “Whoever knows where the enemy is wins. That axiom is now playing out in real time across the Gulf. Russia’s intelligence pipeline has allowed Iran to locate US and Israeli assets with a precision Tehran could not achieve alone.“
Iran’s precision missile and drone strikes targeting neighbouring Gulf Nations have stunned the US forces. In particular, the location of the US tactical operations centre at Shuaiba port and possibly Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, targeted by Iranian drones, could not have been ascertained from any open source. Reports suggest that six US soldiers were killed in that attack. A top Pentagon official told The Washington Post that the attack in Shuaiba port was not a mere coincidence or a matter of chance, He said that someone “must have provided classified information“. The Pentagon official, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that all the targets which were attacked were operational against Iran, stressing: “It is not difficult to guess who provided the information.“
Senior US officials suspect that Russia is providing Iran with sensitive intelligence. The Russian intelligence inputs have made it easier for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to target US warships, combat aircraft and military bases in the region. As expected, President Putin has denied the allegation, stating that he knows nothing about the matter.
Meanwhile, a drone attack targeted a military base in Erbil, Iraq, injuring several US personnel and involving British troops. The strike, attributed to pro-Iranian factions as part of widening regional conflict, badly damaged sites housing international coalition forces involved in counter-terrorism training in early March 2026. Later, British Defence Secretary John Healey said that drone pilots from Iran and Iranian proxies were increasingly adopting tactics “from the Russians”. He stressed: “I think no one will be surprised to believe that Putin’s hidden hand is behind some of the Iranian tactics and potentially, potentially some of their capabilities as well.” Healey told The Guardian: “It was partly because the one world leader that is benefiting from sky-high oil prices at the moment is Putin, because it helps him with a fresh supply of funds for his brutal war in Ukraine.”
British defence analysts have explained that Iranian drones often evade radar by flying at very low altitudes. It increases the possibility of successfully hitting the target. According to them, Russia previously used this strategy against Ukraine as Moscow deployed Shahed Kamikaze drones. The Russian forces claimed that these Iranian-designed one-way attack drones were quite deadly.
Iran’s military surveillance capabilities have significantly evolved beyond relying solely on its own limited satellite inventory, utilising external support to target fast-moving foreign warships. However, Russia possesses advanced surveillance satellites, like Kanopus-V-IK. This type of satellite can easily determine the precise location of targets with the help of high-resolution images and radar imagery. On the other hand, Iran’s missile guidance is achieving pinpoint accuracy by using China’s highly accurate BeiDou satellite navigation system.
According to an Al Jazeera analysis, Iran is utilising Russian intelligence and Chinese hardware to significantly enhance its military capabilities, creating a war of signals focussed on the electromagnetic spectrum. This support enables the Islamic Republic to track and potentially target US, as well as Israeli, assets with advanced, intelligence-driven precision. It may be noted that the US had helped Ukraine in attacking the Russian military bases in a similar fashion. And, President Putin, who still remembers this, is taking revenge.
CNN has reported that Russia stands to gain strategically and economically from the Iran War by shifting US attention away from Ukraine, driving up global oil prices and strengthening its alliance with the Islamic Republic. Hence, Moscow is reportedly assisting Tehran with intelligence on US targets to prolong the conflict. The Kremlin is currently somewhat free from international pressure, with global attention shifting from the Ukraine War to the ongoing turmoil in West Asia.
Meanwhile,
Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook
Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter
Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin
Contact us: kousdas@gmail.com
ISMC
Boundless Ocean Of Politics 