KIEV, February 3. /TASS/. Ukraine denies having used an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on its border with Belarus, calling such an accusation a "provocation".
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko published a statement on his Facebook page on Thursday, saying that it was "another provocation by the Belarusian authorities. Ukraine did not use the UAV".
At the same time, Kiev once again resorted to anti-Russian rhetoric. "We urge Minsk not to play along with Russia's destabilizing actions. Peace on the border between Belarus and Ukraine is in the interests of the entire region," Nikolenko wrote.
According to the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, a Ukrainian UAV illegally breached the border with Belarus on January 24 and was forced to land by Belarusian armed forces experts. The Ministry stated that the UAV was launched from the territory of Ukraine "to carry out illegal reconnaissance activities over the Brestsky military training ground".
On Thursday, Belarus issued a protest to Ukraine over the illegal breach of the Belarusian border by the Ukrainian drone. The Defense Ministry of Belarus handed a note of protest to the military attache of the Ukrainian embassy.