Germany and France accuse Russia of the OSCE drone disappearance
According to Ukrinform, Germany and France, as Normandy format participants strongly condemned the downing of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission drone in Eastern Ukraine on October 27 and accused Russia of being responsible for it.
A joint statement by the two countries in the OSCE Permanent Council of November 1 stated, “Evidence collected by the SMM suggests that Russia and the separatists it backs bear responsibility for the targeting and downing of the LR UAV.” They emphasized that those who attack SMM personnel and equipment should be brought to justice.
German and French representatives noted that the SMM UAV recorded convoys that crossed the Russian border and entered Ukraine territory within the past few weeks. The drone spotted the Russian air defense system before the connection was lost.
The drone destruction incident is a serious violation of the SMM mandate that is approved by all OSCE member states. “It constitutes an inadmissible culmination of continued interference, intimidation and restriction of SMM monitors’ work, who act as eyes and ears of the international community on the ground,” the statement reads.
It emphasized that Russia, as a member of the Normandy Format and a signatory the Minsk Agreements, “bears a particular responsibility to ensure free, safe, secure and unimpeded access for the OSCE monitors and their equipment.”
Berlin and Paris reminded the parties that by signing the Minsk Agreements, they committed themselves to ensuring the effective monitoring and verification of a ceasefire within the area of conflict by the SMM’s observers, as well as the withdrawal of heavy weapons from that area.
On October 26, 2018 at 10:03 p.m., the OSCE SMM drone was launched from the site in Stepanivka, Donetsk in Ukraine-controlled territory. At 01:48, the drone spotted a 9K33 Osa surface-to-air missile system belonging to the armed forces of the Russian Federation over an area southeast of Nyzhnokrynske. At 01:53, the SMM lost contact with the drone.
Earlier, the OSCE mission spotted military-type vehicles in Russian “humanitarian convoys” in the territory not controlled by Ukraine in the Donetsk region.