Russia: Ukraine not allowed to use combat drones in Donbas
Only OSCE observers are allowed to use drones in the Donbas, said the spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova on her Telegram channel.
Earlier, the representative of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic in the trilateral contact group, Rodion Miroshnik, told RIA Novosti that the drone, which was detected by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission on November 6 in the territory controlled by Ukraine near the demarcation line in the Donbas belongs to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"Let me remind you once again: only OSCE observers have the right to use drones in the conflict zone in the Donbas," Zakharova wrote.
According to Zakharova, “Paris and Berlin, which advocate holding meetings in the "Normandy format", can no longer pretend that they do not notice the unbridled behavior of the Kyiv regime, which kills the previously reached [Minsk] agreements, and most importantly - the hope of the citizens of Ukraine for a peaceful life."
A day earlier, the OSCE SMM reported a drone flying near the village of Bolotne, north-east of Luhansk. The OSCE observers said they hear an explosion in the immediate. The report indicates that the mission, while patrolling the vicinity of Bolotne, heard four bursts of small arms less than 50m from its location. After that, the mission team noticed a short-range unmanned aerial vehicle.
At the end of October, the General Staff of Ukraine used a Turkish Bayraktar drone for the first time in the Donbas near the village of Granitne. According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Russian militants fired at Ukrainian positions using heavy artillery. One Ukrainian servicemen was killed during the shelling, another was wounded. According to the Ukrainian military, the drone did not cross the demarcation line and destroyed the enemy artillery installation with its crew.
Ukrainian Armed Forces are ready to use Bayraktar attack drones during day and night, said in an interview with BBC News Ukraine the commander of the Ukrainian Joint Forces Sergiy Naev.
According to him, Turkish Bayraktar drones have been on combat duty in the Ukrainian Armed Forces since the spring of 2021, when Russia started amassing its troops near Ukrainian borders. Naev also noted that the drones have already shown their effectiveness for reconnaissance and collecting valuable information about the enemy. At the same time, they are involved in patrolling not only in the Donbas, but also the north and south of Ukraine.
"When Ukraine purchased these systems, the personnel was trained to use them. Now, all Bayraktar crews are ready for reconnaissance day and night, as well as combat use - also day and night, " Naev said.