The United States has indications that Iran wants to support Russia in a war of aggression against Ukraine.

"Our information shows that the Iranian government is preparing to rapidly deploy several hundred unmanned aerial vehicles, including those capable of carrying weapons," US President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in Washington on Monday.

Iran will also train Russians to use these aircraft, often referred to colloquially as drones, Sullivan said.

According to US knowledge, such training could begin as early as mid-July.

However, it is unclear whether such weapons have already been delivered.

Sullivan interpreted the information as indicating that Russia's progress in the war in eastern Ukraine was having an impact on maintaining its own weapons stocks.

Zelenskyi to Nord Stream turbine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns against concessions to Russia over concerns about energy shortages in Europe.

The planned delivery of a serviced Russian turbine for the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1, for example, sends a completely wrong signal to Moscow, he said in a video message on Monday.

“If a terrorist state can enforce such an exemption from sanctions, what exemptions does it want tomorrow or the day after?

This question is very dangerous.”

The Russian state-owned company Gazprom had significantly reduced the delivery volume through Nord Stream 1 in June and referred to the missing turbine, which had been brought to Canada for repairs.

A government spokeswoman said on Monday in Berlin that the delivery of the turbine would not fall under the EU sanctions because, with good reason, they were not aimed at gas transit.

Nothing has been delivered via the last most important route for Russian natural gas to Germany since Monday - according to Nord Stream AG due to maintenance work until July 21st.

Until then, no gas will be transported through the pipeline to Germany, it said.

However, there is a general concern that Moscow will not turn on the tap afterwards and that gas will run out in the autumn and winter.

"Russia now only supplies Germany via the Transgas pipeline through Ukraine," said the President of the Federal Network Agency, Klaus Müller, the editorial network Germany.

“The government in Moscow could increase shipments through Ukraine at any time to meet its contractual obligations.

But (Russia's President) Vladimir Putin apparently lacks the political will to do so." If the serviced turbine was reinstalled by the end of the Nord Stream maintenance on July 21, "Russia would no longer have any arguments to continue curbing gas delivery volumes “.

Zelenskyy said the decision to "exception sanctions" was perceived in Moscow as a "manifestation of weakness".

"That's their logic.

And now there is no doubt that Russia will try not only to limit gas supplies to Europe as much as possible, but to completely stop them at the most acute moment.” Any concession will be perceived by Moscow as an incentive for further, stronger pressure, he said.

"Russia has never played by the rules in the energy sector and will not do so now unless it sees strength."

Mass exodus from the Donbass

According to the authorities, around 1.3 million people have fled the government-controlled part of the contested Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine since the start of the Russian war of aggression four and a half months ago.

According to Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, that's about 80 percent of the civilian population.

Since Russia took control of the Luhansk region, the focus of fighting has shifted to neighboring Donetsk.