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Foreign specialists operate Ukrainian army’s drones — LPR reconnaissance

According to an LPR security officer, this information was derived from decoding of a flight recorder retrieved from a drone shot down by LPR militias
Ukrainian military EPA/IRINA GORBASYOVA
Ukrainian military
© EPA/IRINA GORBASYOVA

MOSCOW, June 29. /TASS/. Foreign specialists are operating unmanned aerial vehicles of the Ukrainian army to conduct aerial reconnaissance and adjust fire, LuganskInformCentre said on Monday citing security services of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).

According to an LPR security officer, this information was derived from decoding of a flight recorder retrieved from a drone shot down by LPR militias.

LuganskInformCentre said it was a mass produced Furia drone, which had best characteristics in terms of flight distance and altitude. "To prevent data interception, this vehicles recorded data in a special recorder instead of transmitting then in the online regime," the agency said, adding that the bulk of Ukrainian drone were home-made devices, "with hulls made of foam plastic and the insides assembled from available details by radio amateurs and handed over to Ukrainian army and police." "These devices are equipped with mini video cameras transmitting data in the on-line regime to a ground control station," the agency noted.

The examination of the drone shot down by the LPR militias revealed photos of the drone operators made while testing the drone’s camera. "The photos feature men operating the drone from an apartment equipped with special devices," the agency said. "Such equipment and work conditions are not typical for rank and file Ukrainian soldiers. More to it, the uniform and underwear of such models and colors are not used in any of the Ukrainian army units."

The LPR security service officer noted that "one of the foreigners from the photos was reported to have taken part in combat operation during Georgia’s aggression against South Ossetia in 2008." This information, according to the officer, was being verified.