VIENNA, October 28. /TASS/. Use of strike drones in Donbass is prohibited by the Minsk Agreements and the OSCE Chair must provide a response to such actions, Russian Permanent Representative to the Organization Alexander Lukashevich told the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna Thursday.
In particular, Lukashevich expressed extreme concern over reports that the Ukrainian Armed Force (UAF) used a strike drone near the settlement of Staromaryevka.
"The use of such vehicles is banned by the Minsk Agreements. Also, flights of any type of drone, except OSCE Special Monitoring Mission drones, are prohibited by the measures on reinforcement of the ceasefire regime," Russian envoy said.
According to the official, the Ukrainian military has been making contradicting statements: they openly admit their violations on the one hand, and debunk them on the other hand. For example, Ukrainian General Staff officially confirmed the combat use of the Bayraktar system against militia positions near the settlement of Granitnoye, which neighbors Staromaryevka, on October 25. However, Ukrainian media debunked this, citing the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, the diplomat noted.
"Once again we ask: where is the OSCE Chair’s reaction to these violations of de-escalation measures by the UAF? We emphasize: the SMM must scrupulously register all facts of violation of the measures on reinforcement of ceasefire regime," Lukashevich stated.
The Russian envoy also pointed to the episode of combat use of a drone during an attempt to damage an oil depot in Donetsk, when an explosive was dropped on a reservoir roof. He called on the SMM to promptly register this fact.