LUGANSK, November 7. /TASS/. Rodion Miroshnik, who represents the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) in the Contact Group’s political subgroup, accused Ukraine’s newly appointed defense minister of lying publicly about use of drones in Donbass.

"[Alexei] Reznikov lied just one day after his appointment. In the first broadcast after his appointment as the [defense] minister, he claimed that Ukraine’s use of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] in the zone of conflict does not violate the Minsk agreements," Miroshnik wrote in his Telegram channel late on Saturday.

According to the diplomat, Reznikov was referring to the September 19, 2014 memorandum, which prohibits the use of "foreign drones."

"Too bad Reznik remembers the 2014 document, but has forgotten about another one, dated July 2020. He himself took part in drafting it," Miroshnik said.

According to the LPR negotiator, all parties to the Minsk format talks signed additional ceasefire control measures in July 2020. Among other things, the document prohibits the sides from using "any type of aircraft" in the conflict zone.

Earlier, Miroshnik said that Reznikov’s appointment confirms Kiev’s determination to seek escalation in Donbass.

Members of Ukraine’s parliament, Verkhovna Rada, voted to appoint former Deputy Prime Minister Aleksei Reznikov to the post of Minister of Defense of Ukraine on November 4. On Wednesday, Reznikov was dismissed from his post as Deputy Prime Minister - Minister for Reintegration of uncontrolled territories.

Since May 5, 2020, Reznikov also occupied the post of the first deputy head of Ukraine’s delegation to the Contact Group. He is known for his calls to review and rewrite the Minsk agreements. In his opinion, putting the Minsk Agreements into practice will be impossible, but withdrawing from them unilaterally would be a political "suicide" for Ukraine.