VIENNA, November 4. /TASS/. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Monday the Special Monitoring Mission's unmanned aerial vehicle had been attacked near Mariupol, south-eastern Ukraine.
The incident occurred on November 2, the OSCE said in a report posted on its website.
“At a location 2.5km NE of Shyrokyne village (17 km E of Mariupol and east of the line of contact), an SMM Unarmed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) - at a height of 5,000 feet - spotted an armored personnel carrier (APC) and two Ural trucks at what appeared to be a checkpoint at 13.05hrs on 2 November,” the report said.
“At 13.11hrs, a person in camouflage uniform - standing close to a civilian truck parked approximately 150m from the APC and Urals - was seen to point a man-portable air defence system (Man-Pad) at the SMM UAV. He did not fire. He instead loaded the Man-Pad onto the civilian truck. A canvas covering on the back of the truck was removed, revealing a truck-mounted, anti-aircraft gun (probably a ZU-23), which immediately fired numerous rounds at the SMM UAV, none of which hit it,” the report went on to say.
After the incident the unmanned aerial vehicle “left the area, landing safely at 13.45hrs,” the OSCE said.