(NewsNation) — The White House says there’s evidence Iranian troops are helping Russian forces with drone strikes in Ukraine.

“The United States began warning in July that Iran was planning to transfer UAVs to Russia for use in Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, and we now have abundant evidence that these UAVs are being used to strike Ukrainian civilians and critical civilian infrastructure,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Wednesday.

Price’s statements were confirmed by National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, who told reporters Thursday Iran has troops on the ground training Russians how to pilot drones.

“The fact is this: Tehran is now directly engaged on the ground and through the provision of weapons that … are killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure in Ukraine,” Kirby said.

Kirby went on to tell reporters that Washington is going to pursue all means to “expose, deter and confront” Iran’s supply of munitions to Russia, including more sanctions, while also considering air defense solutions for Ukraine.

NewsNation’s Leland Vittert joined “Rush Hour” Thursday to speak on what these new revelations could mean. According to Vittert, it shows desperation from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“It’s stunning really in the sense that the mighty Russian army that was going to take over Western Europe during the Cold War is now getting help from Iranians because their weapons systems are so poor in Russia that they’re bringing in these cheaper Iranian drones — it speaks to the desperation of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin,” Vittert said on Thursday.

“The worrisome part continues to be, the more desperate Putin is, the more willing he is to do extreme things,” Vittert said.